'Prepared for the rush,' Architect of new school tax credit website says it will be ready on time
A website to handle Oklahoma's new school choice tax credit program will be ready to go at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 1, the moment the application period opens.
That's the promise from the company hired by the Oklahoma Tax Commission to set up and administer the state’s new program to help Oklahoma families with the cost of private education.“We have heard there is a lot of excitement (about the program), so we are prepared for that rush," Taimarie Adams, the executive director of education for Merit International Inc., told The Oklahoman. “We do expect a large percent of the applications to come in that first day.”The early rush is expected because of the way the Oklahoma tax-credit program is designed. Funding for the tax credits was capped by the state Legislature at $150 million, with the cap increasing by $50 million each year for another two years.
The deadline for application is Dec. 31 of the year the educational expenses were incurred, or until the program’s annual cap is met, whichever comes first. If there are more applications than the appropriation will cover, families with lower annual incomes will receive first priority.
How Oklahoma's school choice tax credit works, and why applying early might mean a lot
Under the program, families with a household income of under $75,000 are eligible for a $7,500-per-child credit and receive top priority. Next are families with income between $75,000 and $150,000, who can get a $7,000 credit, followed by those with income of $150,000 to $225,000 who can get $6,500, and those with income of $225,000 to $250,000 who can get $6,000.
In case the $150 million cap is reached and all eligible applicants cannot receive a credit, priority will go to those who applied earliest.
In other words, applying early could mean a lot.
“One of the things we heard loud and clear is we want to make sure this program serves families with the highest needs,” Adams said.
Adams said Merit has had rollouts of similar tax-credit programs in Kansas and Ohio that have mostly gone smoothly, although she cautioned that with any new system, “there always are some bumps when implementing quickly.”
The tax credit must be claimed by submitting an application to the Oklahoma Tax Commission — not on an Oklahoma state tax return.
If applicants follow the instructions on the Tax Commission’s website, the process should be seamless, Adams said. The form to fill out can be found on that site, and she emphasized the importance of the applicant having an affidavit from the private school in which a student is enrolled, in order to verify enrollment and the cost of attendance.
Administrators of private schools can learn about eligibility requirements and complete the participation form on the same website.
The website also will have a directory of accredited private schools in Oklahoma. By Dec. 1, the schools that are participating in the program will be indicated as “registered.” As of Friday afternoon, all schools were listed as “Not Yet Registered,” but that will change over the coming days, Adams said.
According to the Tax Commission's provisional rules, the tax credits can cover “qualified expenses” related to education, which are defined as tuition and fees at an accredited private school. They also include enrollment, registration or application fees; textbook fees; technology fees; activity fees; testing and assessment fees; and school uniform fees, if those fees are paid directly to the school.
For home-schooled students, the qualified expenses include tuition and fees for nonpublic online learning programs; academic tutoring services; textbooks, curriculum or other instructional materials; and fees for nationally standardized assessments, including those used to determine college admission and advanced placement exams. Also covered are expenses for tutoring or preparatory courses for those assessments.
Merit is under a one-year contract to administer the program, although Adams hopes that with a strong performance during the rollout, the company could look to secure a longer contract moving forward. She said she’s confident that both Tax Commission employees and school officials should be comfortable with Merit’s software.
The Tax Commission officials with whom Merit has worked “have been great partners,” Adams said. “One of the reasons states partner with organizations like Merit is we are able to do some of the heavy lift to get the programs off the ground very quickly. We also make sure our state partners have everything that they need.”
How to apply for the tax credit
Here are the Oklahoma Tax Commission’s instructions for applying for the school choice tax credits:
For Taxpayers
Taxpayers will need to secure an Enrollment Verification Form for each student from the student’s school(s), which they will request and receive via email from their school.
Taxpayers must confirm their eligibility and apply for the program at the new website, www.parentalchoice.ok.gov, by submitting an Enrollment Verification Form for each student. Non-guardian applicants also will need to submit a completed Parental Consent Form, which is available on the program website.
Program administrators will verify the applicant’s information and issue a tax credit of $5,000-$7,500 based on the federal adjusted gross income (AGI) of the student’s household. Note that for the first 60 days, priority will be given to applicants with a federal AGI of $150,000 or less.
Payment of the credit will be sent directly to the schools; however, the checks will be made payable to the taxpayer. Depending on whether tuition and fees have already been paid, the taxpayer will either receive the credit payment from the school or sign it over to the school as payment.
For Schools:
School administrators are invited to register as a participating accredited school at www.parentalchoice.ok.gov.
School administrators have been given access to a secure, online Enrollment Verification Form generator which they will use to validate a student’s enrollment at their school.
When a parent or guardian requests the Enrollment Verification Form, the school will use the online form generator to produce the document(s). This process can be done individually or in bulk with a .CSV upload.
The form generator will then email the authorized Enrollment Verification Form from the school directly to the parent or guardian, who will upload that file during the application process.
Payment of the credit will be sent directly to the schools; however, the checks will be made payable to the taxpayer. Depending on whether tuition and fees have already been paid, the school will either give the credit payment to the taxpayer or the taxpayer will sign it over to the school as payment.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma school choice tax credit site on schedule to open Dec. 1
