Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC)

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program is a Pennsylvania state program that allows businesses to reduce their tax liability by making a cash gift to a registered scholarship organization such as The Scholarship Partners Foundation (SPF) of the Diocese of Greensburg. 

Each participating business may designate all or part of their donation to any of the 15 Catholic elementary schools or two diocesan high schools. The SPF allocates collected funds as financial aid to qualified students attending a Catholic school within our diocese. Many of our families rely on SPF as a critical financial aid resource. 

A business deciding to make a donation to SPF must apply to the PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) for tax credit approval. The DCED, in turn, will approve the application and allocate the tax funds. 

For the EITC program, a business making a two year commitment of equal funding is awarded a 90 percent credit against taxes owed both years. A one year commitment earns a 75 percent credit. Businesses can apply for up to $300,000 in credits; however, credits cannot exceed a company’s state liability to a given year. Applications must also be renewed annually.