NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Education under Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds is taking the first administrative steps so the Volunteer State can join the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit when that program starts in 2027.
Officials say Tennessee is already among roughly 30 states that filed an advanced election to take part. A preliminary interest form is open for groups that want to operate as Scholarship Granting Organizations, the nonprofits that would gather donations and hand out K-12 aid.
Draft Treasury and IRS rules would let eligible taxpayers claim a nonrefundable federal credit of as much as $1,700 a year for qualifying cash gifts to approved scholarship groups. Married couples filing jointly could claim as much as $3,400. The credit is designed to start on the first day of 2027.
Scholarship groups would have to be nonprofits and route at least nine-tenths of their income into awards. Those awards could cover private-school tuition, fees, tutoring help and classroom materials for eligible elementary and secondary students, with a fuller expense list expected from Treasury later this fall.
Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds cast the form as an early move toward more family flexibility across learning settings. Gov. Bill Lee said the credit matches the state’s broader push for parents to pick environments that fit their children.
Organizations that want onto Tennessee’s scholarship list are told to complete the interest form and send questions to the department’s SGO mailbox. Creating a new 501(c)(3) still runs through the Secretary of State and the IRS.
