First, you are supporting Jewish Education. Second, since you receive a State of Georgia Income Tax Credit equal to the amount contributed, there is virtually no cost to you. Georgia taxpayers can redirect taxes up to the following amounts:
- Married $2,500
- Single $1,000
- Married filing separately $1,250
- Members of single or multi-member LLC’s, Partners in Partnerships, and Shareholders in S-corporations $10,000
- Trusts and Estates can offset up to 75% of their State income tax
- Partnerships and S-Corporations electing to pay Georgia income tax at the entity level, pluc C-corporations can offset up to 75% of their State income tax
Please note the following with respect to the $10,000 limit:
If the individual taxpayer is a member, partner, or shareholder in more than one pass through entity, the total credit allowed cannot exceed $10,000; The individual taxpayer decides which pass through entities to include when computing Georgia income for purposes of the qualified education expense credit. You can include those with income and exclude those with losses. You cannot include any pass-through entities that make an election to pay Georgia income tax at the entity level. All Georgia income, loss, and expense from the taxpayer selected pass-through entities will be combined to determine Georgia income for purposes of the qualified education expense credit. Such combined Georgia income shall be multiplied by the Georgia tax rate (5.75%) to determine the tax that was actually paid.
If the taxpayer is filing a joint return, the taxpayer’s spouse may also claim a credit for their ownership interests and shall separately be eligible for a credit resulting in a married couple filing jointly to contribute up to $20,000. The applications must be submitted separately. If the taxpayer(s) chooses to be preapproved under this option, they are not allowed the additional amounts normally allowed an individual. If the taxpayer is preapproved for an amount that exceeds the amount that is calculated as allowed when the return is filed, the excess amount cannot be claimed by the taxpayer and cannot be carried forward. The new limit will be reduced by any amounts previously approved.
