CPSA is participating in a new scholarship fund established by the State of Illinois, created to help provide funding for students attending non-public schools. As an incentive, the State of Illinois is granting a 75% state income tax credit for donations made to this fund, in which CPSA has registered to have its students included as beneficiaries. It is important to note that this program is capped and tax credits will be assigned on a first-come-first-serve basis, and are expected to run out quickly. With this program, parents and members of the community can pay into this scholarship fund money they would have been paying anyway in State income tax.

The CPSA board and administration has been working to streamline the process as much as possible, so that our parents and community can benefit from this great opportunity. In addition to registering with Empower Illinois, a scholarship granting organization, so that students from families in need can apply for and receive scholarships to cover all or part of their tuition to a non-public school of their choice, CPSA is providing logistical support to assist parents in creating an Illinois MyTax ID over the next few days so that they will be ready to apply for and obtain the tax credit on January 2, 2018 when the program officially launches.

Read on for more information.

What is this program?

The Illinois Tax Credit Scholarship Program, “Invest in Kids,” provides a 75 percent Illinois state income tax credit to individuals and corporations that contribute money to a non-profit Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO). The SGOs award scholarships to eligible students from low-income families. Donors will use money already owed to the state (taxes) and donate it to a needs-based scholarships instead, all while receiving a 75 percent state tax credit.

Through this program:

• An individual or corporation will receive a 75 percent credit on donations to an SGO. For example, if a person donates $100,000, they will receive a state tax credit of $75,000.
• Individual donors can designate their donations to College Preparatory School of America.
• The credit can be rolled over for five years.
• The program is capped at $100 million in donations, resulting in $75 million in total tax credits issued.

What is the process of donating?

Beginning on January 2, 2018, individuals will be able to reserve tax credits through mytax.illinois.gov by following these steps:

1. Set up an account at mytax.illinois.gov. This must be done immediately, as activation of the account will take a few days, and must be completed by at least 10 days before the 2nd of January, 2018.
   * CLICK HERE for step-by-step instructions on how to request a letter ID.
   * CLICK HERE for step-by-step instructions on how to activate your my tax account.
2. Apply for a tax credit on mytax.illinois.gov as soon as the application is open on the website. Important note: donations must be made from personal MyTax accounts to be valid for this offer! Make sure you register for a separate online Illinois tax id if you normally make corporate state income tax payments online!
3. Donors will need to provide at least the following information (a complete list will be provided once available):
4. 1. Social Security Number
   2. Personal name and contact information
   3. Name of SGO to which he/she plans to donate (The SGO we are using is Empower Illinois)
   4. Amount he/she plans to donate
   5. Region to which he/she plans to donate (CPSA is region #2)
5. Make a donation via Empower Illinois designated to College Preparatory School of America.
6. Provide certificate from the SGO (EmpowerIllinois) to use tax credit when filing a 2018 return in 2019.