Georgia's Peach Education Tax Credit
Georgia's PEACH Education Tax Credit – previously known as the Qualified Education Donation tax credit – offers an exciting opportunity to advance public education and foster excellence for students across Georgia. Individuals and corporations can support Georgia’s K-12 public education students at no additional cost to you by securing a PEACH Education Tax Credit. Contributing to the PEACH Education Tax Credit provides taxpayers with a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on your Georgia state income taxes, meaning you are able to apply your tax dollars to support innovation in Georgia’s K-12 public schools. The tax credit is capped at $15 million and is approved on a first-come, first-served basis.
PEACH Education Tax Credit Application How-To
How Does the Tax Credit Work?
For example, if you apply and are approved for a $1,000 PEACH Education tax credit, $1,000 of your income tax payment to the state of Georgia may be donated to the Georgia Foundation for Public Education and will be used to support innovation in Georgia’s K-12 public schools. The PEACH Education Tax Credit allows you the unique opportunity to choose where your state tax dollars go and is the result of lawmakers understanding the value of providing a vehicle for citizens to easily support Georgia’s more than 1.7 million public school students. Certainly, public schools are funded by the state’s tax dollars, but, through PEACH (previously referred to as the Qualified Education Donation, QED), you can play a vital role in spurring innovation in Georgia schools while receiving your tax credit.
What Do the Tax Credit Dollars Support?
Donated funds are directed toward innovation in Georgia public schools, with a priority on funding the lowest-performing 25% of schools. Schools and school districts may apply for grant funds for projects they propose, meaning the ideas and projects that PEACH supports are developed and steered from the ground up, by educators who directly understand students’ needs.
Contributions to GFPE via the PEACH Education Tax Credit advance public educational opportunities for students across the state by giving schools the opportunity to implement programs that foster academic excellence resulting in students who are prepared to thrive in a 21st century workforce.
See Some PEACH Funded Projects
How to Qualify for the Tax Credit
To become approved for the PEACH Education Tax Credit, simply apply for the tax credit here, and we will handle the rest of the process, informing you of your status when complete.
Once you or your corporation is approved, you may then make your donation to PEACH – thus receiving your education donation tax credit, which you may then claim on your Georgia income tax return.
History of Georgia's Public Education Tax Credit
In May 2021 Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation that created the modern structure of the Georgia Foundation for Public Education. This bill merged the Innovation Fund Foundation, the organization responsible for managing the tax credit program, with GFPE, the philanthropic arm of the Georgia Department of Education. It was an act that expanded the state’s ability to fund innovation and better meet the financial needs of Georgia’s K-12 public schools.
Specifically, the merger created greater efficiency for fundraising for Georgia’s K-12 public schools by moving the PEACH Education Tax Credit (formally known as the Qualified Education Donation, QED) to GFPE. Effective in 2024, the cap on PEACH tax credits increased to $15 million annually.
Since its inception, PEACH has already made an impact within K-12 public education across Georgia, funding a wide range of projects, including COVID-19 relief efforts, grants for teachers, and innovation grants for schools and districts.
In fact, more than 100 schools and 16 nonprofit organizations across 37 school districts that serve 14,282 students have received direct aid through this fund for public education. PEACH Education Tax Credits are making a tangible difference for public education across our state. And you can make just as big an impact when you sign-up to contribute your state income tax credit.
