Florida Tax Credit Scholarships
Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarships provides scholarships to students to attend private schools or receive transportation to public schools outside their district. This program relies on business donations incentivized by tax credits, rather than automatic public funding. Florida students who are not full-time private or public school students can access the Personalized Education Program (PEP) through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. This scholarship provides an education savings account (ESA) to fund the educational needs of eligible students.
Program Type: Education Savings Account (ESA) funded by corporate tax credits
Two Pathways:
- Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarships: For private school enrollment
- Personalized Education Program (PEP): For homeschooling families and customized education
What It Supports:
- FTC: Private school tuition and fees
- PEP: Customized education expenses including curriculum, tutoring, part-time school enrollment, online programs, therapies, testing, and educational materials
Who It Serves: All K–12 students via private school route (FTC); homeschooling families via PEP (universal eligibility)
Annual Funding: Approximately $8,100 per student
How It Works:
- Businesses donate to approved nonprofit Scholarship Funding Organizations (SFOs)
- Businesses receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit against Florida corporate income tax, sales tax, insurance premium tax, or alcoholic beverage excise tax
- Scholarships are issued to eligible families through the SFOs
PEP Requirements for Homeschoolers:
- Parents direct the education and choose curriculum/learning pathway
- Must submit annual student learning plan
- Must submit annual assessment results
- Provides flexibility for part-time enrollment in public or private schools
Program Scale:
- Tax credit authorization for 2024–2025: $1.09 billion
- FTC remains the largest tax-credit scholarship program in the nation
- No enrollment cap; allocated based on available tax credit funds
Switching Between FTC and PEP: Families may switch between private school scholarship (FTC) and homeschool program (PEP) without formally declining; contact Step Up For Students for assistance with program switches.
Application Process: Apply through Step Up For Students or AAA Scholarship Foundation
Funding Source: Corporate tax credits (dollar-for-dollar against state business taxes)