Education Expense Tax Credit
*Explainer videos at bottom of page*
Now you can provide scholarship funds to the students at The Joy House’s on-campus, GAC-accredited
school. Your contribution will qualify you for a dollar-for-dollar education tax credit on your Georgia
income tax return.
The Georgia Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit Program allows individual and corporate taxpayers to redirect a portion of their state income taxes to benefit students at private schools, including The Joy House Academy.
Each year, the State of Georgia allows a portion of state income tax dollars to be designated for school
scholarships. In 2022 the portion was raised to $120 million. This program allows individuals and
companies to receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for donations for student scholarships at accredited
non-profit private schools in Georgia. The state legislature has made this available to both individuals,
married couples, S-Corps, LLCs, and C-Corps.
All donations are processed by organizations called Student Scholarship Organizations(SSO). The Joy
House partners with the Georgia Student Scholarship Organization (GaSSO) as our SSO. All contributions
designating the Joy House Academy will be directed to the teens in our program to meet their
educational needs.
Scholarship contributions can have a significant impact on supporting the Joy House program, as nearly
20 percent of our budget needs are for educational expenses. This program has become a significant
source of funding for us.
Each year for the past several years pledge requests have exceeded the $120 million cap. For this reason
pledges are pro-rated. For instance, in 2025 if you pledged $5000 you were approved for $2665 just over
53%. Because of this program’s popularity the cap is met on the first business day of the New Year. For
this reason, it is imperative that we have those who want to participate act between now and the end of
the year to fill out the appropriate request form. You can fill out the appropriate request online at the
GaSSO website and they will be automatically input to the DOR. You can get the details below on how to
do this.
The state has set generous limits. You can contribute any amount you choose up to the following:
- Couples filing jointly can redirect up to $5,000 of their income tax liability.
- Individuals can redirect up to $2,500 of their income tax liability.
- LLCs, S-Corps, and Partnerships: Up to $25,000
- C Corporations that pay Georgia income taxes can redirect up to 75% of their income tax
liability.
Easy To Participate
Designating your tax credit to The Joy House Academy is easy. Simply follow these steps.
1. Get Pre-Qualified. For the 2026 tax year you complete your application online. Please follow
this link to the GaSSO website and click on the button that says “Submit Your Pledge”. If you’ve
done this before and have a GaSSO account use it to login. If this is your first time you will need
to create an account.
2. Complete Pledge Form for 2026
3. Confirm email
4. Select The Joy House Academy as your school of choice.
5. Check disclaimer
6. Click Submit
7. Wait until January for Georgia SSO email or DOR approval letter (save both)
8. Once approved, fund your pledge within 60 days from approval
If you have any questions about the process please check out the links below, if you need assistance,
contact Steve Lowe by email [email protected] or phone at 706-253-7569.