The Ohio scholarship tax credit

How It Works

Four steps from your donation to a student’s tuition — and back to your tax return.

Ohio’s scholarship donation credit lets you direct part of what you already owe the state to a student’s tuition. Here is the whole process, start to finish.

How it works

  1. You donate

    Give online in two minutes. $750 ($1,500 filing jointly) is the most Ohio will credit back in a year. Give by April 15 and you can claim it on the return you are about to file.

  2. We award a scholarship

    Need-based scholarships go to K–12 students at our partner Islamic schools, with low-income families first — as Ohio requires of every certified SGO.

  3. The school applies it to tuition

    Funds are paid straight to the school and credited against the student’s tuition. Nothing is spent on overhead beyond mandatory legal fees and web hosting.

  4. You claim the credit

    Keep the emailed receipt. On your Ohio income tax return (IT 1040, Schedule of Credits) claim the scholarship donation credit, and your Ohio tax drops by the full amount you gave.

For visual learners

Watch: how the Ohio scholarship tax credit works

A short walkthrough of the donation, the scholarship and the credit on your return.

The math What your donation actually costs you

Filing status
You give $750
Ohio credits back $750
Your net cost $0
Reaches students $750

Every dollar goes to K–12 tuition at a partner school.

The credit can’t exceed your Ohio income-tax liability for the year. How to check your maximum (opens in a new tab)

Donate now (opens in a new tab)

Why donors give

The state pays you back. The student keeps the education.

100% tax credit
Your full donation comes back as an Ohio tax credit — up to $750 for an individual, $1,500 married filing jointly.
Direct impact
Funds scholarships that prioritize low-income K–12 students at Islamic schools.
Community investment
Strengthens educational opportunity in our own Islamic schools, here in Greater Cincinnati.
Zero net cost
Your Ohio tax liability decreases dollar-for-dollar with your donation. A credit, not a deduction.
Employer match
If your employer matches gifts, a student receives twice as much. The match is not credited, but it doubles the impact. See matching employers (opens in a new tab)

Questions

The ones everyone asks first

Certification and receipts

Certified Ohio SGO
Certified by the Ohio Attorney General as a Scholarship Granting Organization. Verify on the Ohio AG list (opens in a new tab)
501(c)(3) nonprofit
An Ohio non-profit corporation established in 2024, recognized by the IRS.
You receive a receipt
Every donation gets an emailed receipt stating your contribution. Keep it — it is what you file with your Ohio return.
Prefer to mail a check?
Payable to Cincinnati Islamic School SGO
PO Box 249 Mason, OH 45040-9998

Give by April 15 to claim the credit on the return you file this spring.

Donate now (opens in a new tab)