Sunflower Ohio Tax Credit FAQs

The Sunflower Ohio Tax Credit Fund is the Julie Billiart Network Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO). An SGO is an organization exempt from federal taxes whose primary intent must be to award academic scholarships to low-income students to attend schools in grades K-12. Primary intent means the organization must spend >50% of expenses on scholarships. Low income is defined as income below 300% of poverty level.

Only donations made to a certified scholarship granting organization are eligible to receive a tax credit on an individual’s State of Ohio tax return. The Sunflower Ohio Tax Credit Fund is fully certified with the State of Ohio as a scholarship granting organization. Donations made directly to the school’s annual fund are not eligible for the credit.

The benefit of a tax credit allows the taxpayer to direct where their tax dollars go. The State of Ohio tax laws allow a tax credit up to $750 per individual or $1500 for married couples filing jointly for donations made to certified scholarship granting organizations. This credit is available to individuals who have an Ohio tax liability. The credit is a dollar-for-dollar credit, but limited to the lesser of 1) $750 per individual; or, 2) $1500 for married couples filing jointly; or, 3) your total tax liability.

All individuals with earned income will pay income taxes to the State. Even if you expect a refund in the previous year, you paid State income taxes. To estimate the current year’s liability, contact your tax preparer or review your previous year’s tax return. Your State's tax liability is not necessarily the amount deducted from your paycheck or the amount refunded to you or owed to the State. Instead, the tax liability is the total amount owed to the State before determining whether there is a refund or an additional amount to pay. In order to estimate if you will have a tax liability in the coming year, review your tax liability from the previous year’s State of Ohio tax return (in last year’s return, this amount would be on 1040 IT, line 8c.) After considering whether there have been significant changes to your income this year, reviewing the prior year’s State of Ohio tax return will help to estimate whether you will have a similar liability in the current tax year. Contact your tax preparer with questions. If you prefer to wait until exact liability is known, the State of Ohio now allows all donations made by the tax filing deadline to count as a credit for the preceding year’s tax return.

No. The State of Ohio will allow all donations made on or before the state tax filing deadline (typically April 15) to count as a tax credit claim against the income tax for the preceding taxable year.

Yes. The Sunflower Ohio Tax Credit Fund applies to the State of Ohio tax liability. The liability is calculated before credits are applied for withholdings made by your employer or before applying other tax credits. As long as the liability exceeds $750 per individual or $1500 for married couples filing jointly, you may be eligible for the Sunflower tax credit. Please note, however, the tax credit is not refundable. Although credits are stackable, the Sunflower tax credit in combination with other State tax credits may not exceed the tax liability.

A tax deduction reduces a taxpayer’s overall taxable income. A tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar credit against the taxes paid to the State of Ohio up to the limits allowed by the credit. All SGO donations are directed to the Sunflower Tax Credit Fund rather than to the State.

No. As a 501(c)3 organization, the Sunflower Ohio Tax Credit Fund may not accept donations that are designated for a specific student.

No. Any donation amount may be made, but the tax credit available through the State of Ohio is limited to $750 for an individual or $1500 for married couples filing jointly.

Each donor is personally responsible for maintaining the contribution acknowledgement receipt provided by the Sunflower Ohio Tax Credit Fund and Julie Billiart Schools. That receipt can be used to claim the tax credit through the State of Ohio.

There is not a specific application to receive Sunflower Ohio Tax Credit Funds. All JB students are eligible to apply for general financial aid in addition to their scholarship award. The financial aid application process begins once a family receives their admissions decision.