Donations & acknowledgements
Online giving by ACH or card into your segregated account. Every donor gets a unique donor number and a compliant written acknowledgement, without you collecting Social Security numbers.
SGO software for the Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC / ECCA)
Run your SGO’s Education Freedom Tax Credit program without the spreadsheets.
SGO Desk takes donations, issues donor numbers and acknowledgements, checks family income, tracks awards and payments to schools, and builds your report to the IRS. One system for the whole §25F year, and you own every donor relationship and every record in it.
- Federal credit per taxpayer per year, or $3,400 for married couples filing jointly
- $1,700
- States in for 2027, per the IRS list of Sept 14, 2026
- 30
- Minimum share of SGO income spent on scholarships
- 90%
- First day a gift can earn the credit
- Jan 1, 2027
Your donors. Your data.
You own the donor relationship. Always.
Some §25F programs route your donors through someone else’s fund, under someone else’s name. With SGO Desk, your SGO is the one donors give to, the one they hear from, and the one that holds the complete record.
Your donors, your relationships
Donors give to your organization, under your name, and hear from you. We never market to them, contact them, or move them into another fund.
Full access to every record
Every donor, gift, acknowledgement, family, award, and payment is yours to view, search, and use, with no fields held back.
Export anything, any time
Download all of your data whenever you want, in standard formats. If you ever leave, everything leaves with you.
The EFTC program, on one page.
The Education Freedom Tax Credit (section 25F, passed as the ECCA) gives donors a federal tax credit for funding K-12 scholarships through an SGO. Here is how money and paperwork move through it.
- The donor
Gives cash to a listed SGO
Up to $1,700 per taxpayer each year, or $3,400 for a married couple filing jointly, comes back as a federal credit, dollar for dollar. The SGO sends a written acknowledgement with a unique donor number.
- The SGO
Awards scholarships
Students from households at or below 300% of area median income, priority to returning students and their siblings, at least 90% of income going out as scholarships.
- The family
Pays for school
Scholarships cover qualified K-12 expenses like tuition, books, and supplies, and are excluded from the family’s income under §139K.
- The IRS
Gets the paper trail
The donor claims the credit on Form 8525 with their donor number. The SGO reports every donor number’s contributions by February 28.
SGO software for everything the credit requires.
Five parts that share one set of records, so the donor acknowledgement, the award, the school payment, and the IRS report always agree.
Applications & eligibility
One household application with document upload. Area median income thresholds are calculated for the family’s location and size, and every determination is recorded.
Awards
Rank applicants with the statutory priority built in, keep awards to eligible students only, and screen out disqualified persons before anything is final.
Disbursements & ledger
Pay schools directly and keep a per-student ledger, so every dollar can be traced from donor to classroom.
Reporting & calendar
Your scholarship ratio, State list status, January 31 acknowledgements, and February 28 IRS report, tracked on one calendar with nothing left to memory.
Every requirement, accounted for.
The statute and the October 2026 proposed regulations, line by line, and what the software does about each one.
LineRequirementAuthorityIn SGO Desk
1Qualified contributions kept in a separate account, never commingled§25F(c)(5)(B)Contributions are recorded against a dedicated account and, for multistate SGOs, tracked by State.
2At least 90% of income spent on scholarships for eligible students§25F(d)(1)(B)The ratio is computed from the ledger continuously, with warnings well before you approach the line.
3Scholarships to 10 or more students who don’t all attend the same school§25F(d)(1)(A)Award review checks student count and school mix before you finalize a cycle.
4Household income at or below 300% of area median gross income, verified§25F(c)(2)(A), (d)(1)(F)Thresholds by area and household size, with the supporting documents attached to each decision.
5Priority to prior-year recipients, then siblings; no earmarking for a particular student§25F(d)(1)(D)–(E)Priority order is applied automatically, and giving can’t be pointed at a named child.
6No scholarships to disqualified persons§25F(d)(2)Board members, major donors, and their families are flagged during award review.
7Unique donor number on a written acknowledgement by January 31Prop. Reg. §1.25F-4(c)(1)Numbers are issued automatically and acknowledgements are batched and sent on schedule.
8Contributions reported to the IRS by donor number by February 28Prop. Reg. §1.25F-4(c)(2)The report is assembled from the same ledger, so it always ties out to your books.
Proposed regulations REG-117199-25, published October 2, 2026. Final rules may differ; we track every change.
Where the credit is available.
The credit is federal, but each State decides each year whether to take part and which SGOs to list.
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Source: IRS participating-States list, as of September 14, 2026. New York has announced its intent but had not filed. Every State’s status
How a State takes part
- It elects in, one year at a timeThe governor or a designated agency files Form 15714 with the IRS. For 2027 the deadline is January 1, 2027.
- It lists its SGOsThe election only takes effect once the State submits its list of qualifying SGOs, due February 15, 2027 for the first year.
- It can’t add its own SGO rulesUnder the proposed regulations, a State may not hold SGOs to requirements stricter than the federal ones.
Getting started.
- Step 1
Set up your organization
Your EIN, your board, your partner schools, and your State. We confirm your 501(c)(3) public charity status.
- Step 2
Make it yours
Your name, logo, and colors on the donor page, the family application, and every acknowledgement.
- Step 3
Open for pledges
Collect donor commitments in 2026 so gifts can be processed on January 1, 2027.
- Step 4
Award and report
Review applications, award scholarships, pay schools, and file on time, all from the same records.
Pricing.
An SGO has to put at least 90% of its income into scholarships, so software has to fit comfortably in what’s left. Ours takes 1%.
One plan, everything included
1%
1% fee on all transactions.No setup fees.
- Full ownership of your donor data, export any time
- Donation pages and donor records
- Unique donor numbers and acknowledgements
- Family applications and income verification
- Awards with statutory priority
- School payments and per-student ledger
- Ratio tracking and IRS reporting
- Your branding throughout
Guides to the EFTC.
Plain-language explanations of the federal scholarship tax credit, sourced from the statute, the proposed regulations, and IRS guidance.
- The EFTC (ECCA) credit, explainedWhat the $1,700 federal credit ($3,400 filing jointly) is, who qualifies, and how donors claim it.
- EFTC statesWhich States opted in for 2027, and how a State takes part.
- What SGO software has to doThe federal requirements an SGO’s systems need to handle.
- How to start an SGOFrom 501(c)(3) status to your State’s SGO list.
Common questions.
Is the EFTC the same as the ECCA credit?
Yes. The Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC), the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) credit, and the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit all refer to the same thing: the credit in section 25F of the Internal Revenue Code. ECCA was the name of the original bill; Treasury and the IRS have used EFTC and Federal Scholarship Tax Credit since it became law.
What is the federal scholarship tax credit?
Section 25F of the Internal Revenue Code, enacted in July 2025 as part of P.L. 119-21 and sometimes called the Educational Choice for Children Act or the Education Freedom Tax Credit. A donor who gives cash to a qualifying scholarship granting organization reduces their federal income tax dollar for dollar, up to the annual limit.
How much can a donor claim?
$1,700 per taxpayer per year. The proposed regulations treat each spouse on a joint return as a separate taxpayer, so a married couple can claim up to $3,400. The credit is nonrefundable, is reduced by any State credit for the same gift, and unused amounts carry forward for up to five years.
When does it start?
Gifts made on or after January 1, 2027. For the first year, a State that elects in must submit its list of SGOs by February 15, 2027, and only SGOs on that list can receive credit-eligible gifts.
Who can receive a scholarship?
A student who is eligible to enroll in a public elementary or secondary school and whose household income is at or below 300% of the area median gross income. Scholarships can pay only for qualified elementary and secondary education expenses.
Is my State participating?
Thirty States were on the IRS participating list as of September 14, 2026, and others are still deciding. A State’s election only takes effect once it submits its SGO list. The map above is kept current; ask us if yours is in flux.
What does SGO Desk cost?
A 1% fee on all transactions, with no setup fees. Everything on this page is included.
Who owns our donor relationships and data?
You do. Donors give to your SGO under your name, and you have full access to every donor, gift, and record in the system, with export of everything at any time. SGO Desk never contacts your donors or uses your data for anyone else.
We already run a State tax credit scholarship program. Does that carry over?
Many of the habits do, but the federal rules are their own: a separate account for federal contributions, unique donor numbers instead of SSNs, and a specific January 31 and February 28 cadence. SGO Desk is built around the federal rules first.
Gifts start counting January 1, 2027
Open your doors ready.
See SGO Desk with your own organization’s details, and leave with a plan for your first year under §25F.