Homeschool Tax Deductions and Credits in Georgia
Georgia has no homeschool tax credit or deduction. The Georgia Promise Scholarship pays up to $6,500 a year toward home study, but only for children who leave a public school in an eligible attendance zone.
How the Promise Scholarship works
The Georgia Education Savings Authority (GESA) runs the Promise Scholarship. It pays for nonpublic schooling, including private school and home study, in four quarterly installments through the Odyssey online marketplace.
Approved expenses include curriculum and supplemental materials, tutoring by an educator certified by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, therapies from a physician or licensed therapist, and up to $500 a year for transportation to a service provider. Purchases outside the marketplace are not reimbursed, except transportation.
Up to 50 percent of a year's deposits can roll over to the next school year. The maximum is set by the state funding formula and is subject to up to 5 percent in administrative fees.
A student cannot combine Promise funds with a scholarship from a student scholarship organization, the groups funded by Georgia's private school tax credit, or with the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship.
Who qualifies
Prior public school
Your child was enrolled in a Georgia public school for the two consecutive semesters before applying. Children entering kindergarten also qualify for the scholarship, but the GESA handbook names students coming from public school as the ones who may choose home study. A child who is already homeschooled does not qualify.
Attendance zone
You live in the attendance zone of a public school on the state's list of the lowest-performing 25 percent.
Residency
You have lived in Georgia for at least one year. Active-duty military families who moved to Georgia within the last year are exempt with their orders.
Annual testing
A home study recipient takes a GESA-approved nationally norm-referenced test or the state assessment each year and uploads the results by June 30.
Applying and paying
First step
Use the prescreen tool on MyGeorgiaPromise.org, then apply in the next quarterly window while your child is still enrolled in public school.
What can rule you out
Your child must stay in public school until the award letter arrives and then withdraw. Returning to public school ends eligibility. When applicants outnumber seats, returning students and siblings come first, then new students with family income at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level, and the last group is chosen at random.
What you still pay
Costs above the award are the family's. A family that homeschools without the scholarship pays everything.
When to apply or file
Applications open in four quarterly windows, and decisions come after each window closes. Families approved in the first two windows get a full year of funding; the third and fourth windows fund only the second half, starting around January 1.
Teaching that takes the work off you
We teach every subject starting at your child's level, grade the work as it is submitted, and keep the attendance, grades, and transcript, so homeschooling asks less of your time.
$149/month per child after the trial.
Sources (4)
Confirm current tax, scholarship, and ESA rules with the program before you rely on them.