For tax years beginning prior to January 1, 2021, a school
tuition organization tax credit is available which is equal to 65 percent of
the amount of voluntary cash or noncash contributions made by a taxpayer to a
school tuition organization. For tax years beginning on or after January 1,
2021, the tax credit is equal to 75 percent of the amount of voluntary cash or
noncash contributions made by a taxpayer to a school tuition organization.
There are numerous federal revenue regulations, rulings, court cases and other
provisions relating to the determination of the value of a noncash
contribution, and these are equally applicable to the determination of the
amount of a school tuition organization tax credit.
(1)
Definitions. The
following definitions are applicable to this rule:
"Certified enrollment" means the enrollment
at schools served by school tuition organizations as of October 1, or the first
Monday in October if October 1 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, of the
appropriate year.
"Contribution" means a voluntary cash or
noncash contribution to a school tuition organization that is not used for the
direct benefit of any dependent of the taxpayer or any other student designated
by the taxpayer.
"Eligible student" means a student residing
in Iowa who is a member of a household whose total annual income during the
calendar year prior to the school year in which the student receives a tuition
grant from a school tuition organization does not exceed an amount equal to
four times the most recently published federal poverty guidelines in the
Federal Register by the United States Department of Health and Human
Services.
"Qualified school" means a nonpublic
elementary or secondary school in Iowa which is accredited under Iowa Code
section 256.11, including a
prekindergarten program for students who are five years of age by September 15
of the appropriate year, and adheres to the provisions of the federal Civil
Rights Act of 1964 and Iowa Code chapter 216, and which is represented by only
one school tuition organization.
"School tuition organization" means a
charitable organization in Iowa that is exempt from federal taxation under
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code and that does all of the following:
1. Allocates at least 90 percent of its
annual revenue in tuition grants for children to allow them to attend a
qualified school of their parents' choice.
2. Awards tuition grants only to children who
reside in Iowa.
3. Provides tuition
grants to students without limiting availability to students of only one
school.
4. Provides tuition grants
only to eligible students.
5.
Prepares an annual financial statement certified by a public accounting
firm.
"Tuition grant" means a grant to a student
to cover all or part of the student's tuition at a qualified
school.
(2)
Initial
registration. In order for contributions to a school tuition
organization to qualify for the credit, the school tuition organization must
initially register with the department. The following information must be
provided with this initial registration:
a.
Verification from the Internal Revenue Service that Section 501(c)(3) status
was granted and that the school tuition organization is exempt from federal
income tax.
b. A list of all
qualified schools that the school tuition organization serves.
c. The names and addresses of all the members
of the board of directors of the school tuition organization.
Once the school tuition organization is registered with the
department, it is not required to subsequently register unless there is a
change in the qualified schools that the organization serves. The school
tuition organization must notify the department in writing of any changes in
the qualified schools it serves.
(3)
Participation forms.
Each qualified school that is served by a school tuition organization must
annually submit a participation form to the department by November 1. The
following information must be provided with this participation form:
a. The certified enrollment of the qualified
school as of October 1, or the first Monday in October if October 1 falls on a
Saturday or Sunday.
b. The name of
the school tuition organization that represents the qualified school.
(4)
Authorization to issue
tax credit certificates.
a. By
December 1 of each year, the department will authorize school tuition
organizations to issue tax credit certificates for the following calendar year.
The total amount of tax credit certificates that may be authorized is:
(1) $2.5 million for the 2006 calendar
year,
(2) $5 million for the 2007
calendar year,
(3) $7.5 million for
the 2008 through 2011 calendar years,
(4) $8.75 million for the 2012 and 2013
calendar years,
(5) $12 million for
the 2014 through 2018 calendar years,
(6) $13 million for the 2019 calendar
year,
(7) $15 million for the 2020
and 2021 calendar years, and
(8)
$20 million for the 2022 calendar year and subsequent calendar years.
b. The amount of authorized tax
credit certificates for each school tuition organization is determined by
dividing the total amount of tax credit available by the total certified
enrollment of all qualified participating schools. This result, which is the
per-student tax credit, is then multiplied by the certified enrollment of each
school tuition organization to determine the tax credit authorized to each
school tuition organization.
EXAMPLE: For determining the authorized tax credits for the
2022 calendar year, if the certified enrollment of all qualified schools in
Iowa, as provided to the department by November 1, 2021, was 40,000, the
per-student tax credit would be $500 ($20 million ÷ 40,000). If a school
tuition organization located in Scott County represents four qualified schools
with a certified enrollment of 1,400 students, the school tuition organization
would be authorized to issue $700,000 ($500 × 1,400) of tax credit
certificates for the 2022 calendar year. The department would notify this
school tuition organization by December 1, 2021, of the authorization to issue
$700,000 of tax credit certificates for the 2022 calendar year. This
authorization would allow the school tuition organization to solicit
contributions totaling $933,333 ($700,000 ÷ 75%) during the 2022
calendar year which would be eligible for the tax credit.
(5)
Issuance of tax credit
certificates.
a. The school tuition
organization shall issue tax credit certificates to each taxpayer who made a
cash or noncash contribution to the school tuition organization. The tax credit
certificate, designed by the department, shall contain the name, address and
tax identification number of the taxpayer; the amount and date that the
contribution was made; the amount of the credit; the tax year that the credit
may be applied; the school tuition organization to which the contribution was
made; and the tax credit certificate number.
b. A tax credit certificate may be issued to
a partnership, limited liability company, S corporation, estate or trust. The
amount of credit claimed by an individual shall be based on the pro rata share
of the individual's earnings of the partnership, limited liability company, S
corporation, estate or trust.
(6)
Claiming the tax credit.
The taxpayer must include the tax credit certificate with the tax return for
which the credit is claimed. The tax credit shall be claimed in the tax year
during which the contribution is made. Any credit in excess of the tax
liability for the tax year may be credited to the tax liability for the
following five years or until used, whichever is the earlier.
a. The taxpayer shall not claim an itemized
deduction for charitable contributions for Iowa income tax purposes for the
amount of the contribution made to the school tuition organization.
b. Married taxpayers who file separate
returns or file separately on a combined return must allocate the school
tuition organization tax credit to each spouse in the proportion that each
spouse's respective net income bears to the total combined net income.
Nonresidents or part-year residents of Iowa, including those who are claiming a
tax credit of a partnership, limited liability company, S corporation, estate,
or trust of which they are a member, must determine the school tuition
organization tax credit in the ratio of their Iowa source net income to their
total source net income. In addition, if nonresidents or part-year residents of
Iowa are married and elect to file separate returns or to file separately on a
combined return, the school tuition organization tax credit must be allocated
between the spouses in the ratio of each spouse's Iowa source net income to the
combined Iowa source net income.
(7)
Reporting requirements.
Each school tuition organization that issues tax credit certificates must
report to the department, postmarked by January 12 of each calendar year, the
following information:
a. The names and
addresses of all the members of the board of directors of the school tuition
organization, along with the name of the chairperson of the board.
b. The total number and dollar value of
contributions received by the school tuition organization for the previous
calendar year.
c. The total number
and dollar value of tax credit certificates issued by the school tuition
organization for the previous calendar year.
d. A list of each taxpayer who received a tax
credit certificate for the previous calendar year, including the amount of the
contribution and the amount of tax credit issued to each taxpayer for the
previous calendar year. This list should also include the tax identification
number of the taxpayer and the tax credit certificate number for each
certificate.
e. The total number of
children utilizing tuition grants for the school year in progress as of January
12, along with the total dollar value of the tuition grants.
f. The name and address of each qualified
school represented by the school tuition organization at which tuition grants
are being utilized for the school year in progress.
g. The number of tuition grant students and
the total dollar value of tuition grants being utilized for the school year in
progress at each qualified school served by the school tuition organization.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code section
422.11S.
