Your Tax Dollars, Your Choice

This program is available to both businesses and individuals alike. If you pay at least $3,500 in Pennsylvania state taxes, you most likely qualify.

For individuals, you must be an employee, owner, or shareholder of a business authorized to do business in Pennsylvania. This includes non-profit employees and retirees as long as you own stock in a business that operates in Pennsylvania.

You must commit to give the same amount for two years.

• Step 1. Consult your tax advisor or accountant to confirm your eligibility.
• Step 2. Determine your Pennsylvania tax liability for two years and the amount you want to redirect your taxes.
• Step 3. Sign our SPE joinder agreement and reserve your spot as soon as possible! It’s first-come, first-served.
• Step 4. Write a check to your SPE. (In your first year, you may be writing a check to a different SPE based on your participation amount and where there is room.)
• Step 5. The SPE passes 100% of your contribution to St. James School, providing scholarships to students in North Philadelphia.
• Step 6. Around February of the following year, you will receive a K-1 Statement for your Pennsylvania taxes that will include your 90% tax credit.
• Step 7. If you are owed a refund due to overpayment, you will receive it the following fall. Please note, this is handled by a different department and refunds have been delayed.
• Step 8. You will be notified to confirm your participation again either in the fall (if you signed up in the spring) or in the summer (if you signed up in the fall).

Tax credits are available on a first-come, first-served basis. This is a popular program that fills up fast! To make sure you receive a tax credit this year, submit your signed joinder as soon as possible and reserve your spot! Checks are due either in the spring or fall.

We recommend joining in the spring if you know your state tax liability at the beginning of the year and want to avoid paying your quarterly estimated taxes. Also, this is a more guaranteed time. You can also sign up in the fall, if you need a little more time, but know this is the more sought-after deadline. There may be a waiting list due to high demand so get in your joinder early.

Yes! If you itemize your deductions at tax time, the other 10% of your contribution qualifies as a federal charitable donation.

Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) are used in Pennsylvania to aggregate contributions from individuals interested in the Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) or Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs. Individuals sign joinder agreements to participate in a SPE, and our partner, Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Fund (CPSF) makes it possible so you can receive the tax credit.

We partner with an organization called Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Fund (CPSF) who receives the awards from the state, processes the paperwork for us, and passes 100% of the funds to us. They are CPAs who manage the SPEs and provide this service pro-bono. They also work with hundreds of schools across the state, and were vetted by our Finance Committee and Board of Trustees, many of whom participate. This is a win win!

CPSF will send your K-1 Statement in February and will also follow up with you regarding your next year’s participation.

The program is increasingly popular so the sooner you reserve your spot by completing our joinder agreement, the better. They accept sign ups in the spring and fall.

Yes, by filling out the joinder, you are essentially reserving your tax credit. It is possible to adjust the amount listed on your joinder before you need to write a check. For assistance, contact Soozung Rankin at srankin@stjamesphila.org or 215.226.1276 x202.