Educational Improvement Tax Credit

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could direct some or all of your Pennsylvania tax obligation to your local community rather than allow Harrisburg to use it for who know what? Well, with Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program you can do just that!

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC), administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), allows eligible businesses to receive a tax credit equal to 75% of its contribution to a Scholarship Organization and/or to an Educational Improvement Organization that is included on DCED’s current list of approved organizations. The tax credit may be increased to 90% of the contribution made if the business agrees to provide the same amount of contribution to an organization for two consecutive years.

This opportunity only applies to your Pennsylvania tax obligation; you should confer with your business department to determine whether you can also claim all or some of this contribution toward your Federal tax.

To be eligible to participate in EITC, businesses must apply to and receive approval of the DCED. For detailed information on the application process, please check out the Department’s website at www.dced.pa.gov/EITC.

Educational Organizations that wish to benefit from the EITC program must apply to become either a Scholarship Organization or an Educational Improvement Organization. Norwin School District Community Foundation (NSDCF) has been approved as an Educational Improvement Organization. Part of the approval process required the inclusion of specific educational programs/activities for which the contributions would be applied. Currently, NSDCF, in cooperation with Norwin School District officials, has received approval to use funds for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs/activities and to enhance outdoor educational activities on the trails located behind Norwin Middle School.

First National Bank has used the EITC program for five years to partner with NSDCF to support Norwin School District in providing STEM programs and activities to enhance student learning for K-12 students. In 2018, two additional businesses have directed donations to NSDCF: Waste Management, Inc and Scottdale Bank and Trust, A Division of Mid-Penn Bank.

NSDCF is grateful to businesses past and present that have contributed to the excellent learning opportunities made possible through the EITC program. No doubt, this is a win for businesses, schools and students.

If you are interested in discussing EITC with a representative of NSDCF, please contact us at hello@nsdcf.org. Additional information, including EITC guidelines, is available from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.