FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

About Making a Donation

  • No, taxpayers (donors) do not need to log in to the PIFS Portal to donate.

  • According to the most recent legislation passed by the State of Georgia, (Georgia House Bill 517 (2022)), the maximum amounts that any student scholarship organization (SSO) is allowed to keep for administrative purposes based on tax credit revenues is:

    • 8% for SSOs with revenue less than $1.5 million

    • 6% for SSOs with revenue between $1.5 million - $10 million

    • 5% for SSOs with revenue between $10 million - $20 million

    • 4% for SSOs with revenue over $20 million

    In 2025, Pay it Forward Scholarships’ revenue was less than $1.5 million, thereby making the SSO eligible to retain 8% of donations to cover the administrative/operating costs of the organization.

    Pay it Forward Scholarships is working diligently to increase revenues and is committed to finding ways to reduce the administrative burden and operating costs of the organization while still providing excellent customer service for our taxpayers (donors), parents, and schools.

  • Complete the authorization form for the TOTAL amount approved, or the total donation you want to make. Pay it Forward Scholarships will then allocate the payment among the schools designated on your original tax credit request.

    Ex: If you wish to donate $1,000 to School A and $1,000 to School B, you should complete the authorization form for the total amount of $2,000.

    Please email info@payitforwardscholarships.com if you have questions regarding the designation of your funds.

  • ACH transfers are electronic money transfers sent from one bank to another across an Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network.

    Donors provide their bank account information to Pay it Forward Scholarships via the secure authorization process as outlined below.

  • Donating via ACH is easy, convenient, and secure!

    • Pay it Forward Scholarships is able to process ACH transfers with no fee to either the taxpayer (donor) or the organization

    • ACH transfers are not dependent on mail services

    • ACH transfers eliminate the risk of a check being lost or stolen

    • ACH transfers minimize the risk of fraudulent activity

    • Taxpayers (donors) have the ability to specify the date the funds are debited from their bank account (No holidays or weekends. etc.)

    • Donations are received by Pay it Forward Scholarships within 2 business days

    • ACH transfers allow Pay it Forward Scholarships to pass on the maximum amount of a taxpayer’s donation to the designated school

    1. Request access to the secure authorization form

    2. Complete the authorization form providing your bank account information

    3. Pay it Forward Scholarships will process your donation on the date specified. (The only exception to this is if the date indicated is a holiday, weekend, etc.)

    4. Once the donation is deposited into the Pay it Forward Scholarships account, Pay it Forward Scholarships will send the taxpayer an email confirming receipt of the donation.

  • Yes, the taxpayer (donor) specifies the date on the authorization form. This date is the date that Pay it Forward Scholarships will initiate the payment. It may take 2-3 business days for the amount to be debited from the taxpayers account and credited to the Pay it Forward Scholarships account.

    The only time we are unable to honor a specific date is if the date falls on a holiday, weekend, etc.

  • Taxpayers can donate to Pay it Forward Scholarships via credit or debit card through PayPal processing services.

    • A PayPal account is not required.

    • PayPal offers the best (i.e. lowest) processing fees in the industry. The fee is 1.99% + a $.49 per transaction fee.

      • Example: For a donation of $1,000, the PayPal fee would be $20.39.

    • Starting in 2026, taxpayers can choose to increase their donation to cover the PayPal fee, sending the maximum amount of funds to the school.

    • A donation by debit or credit card is not dependent on mail services.

  • Pay it Forward Scholarships partners with PayPal for debit/credit card processing because PayPal offer the best (i.e. lowest) processing fee in the industry!

    PayPal charges 1.99% of the total transaction + a $.49 per transaction fee for the convenience of being able to use your debit or credit card to donate.

    Starting in 2026, taxpayers can choose to cover the PayPal fee in their donation, sending the maximum amount of funds to the school.

    • There are no fees to write and mail a check, but Pay it Forward Scholarships recommends that taxpayers mail their checks before the end of February to avoid any postal service delays.

    • Donors should use this address when mailing a donation:

      • Pay it Forward Scholarships
        615 Oak Street, Suite A (Box 5)
        Gainesville, GA 30501

  • Yes! We accept stock donations! Contact our office for stock transfer instructions.

  • Taxpayers should consult with their trusted tax professional.

  • The GA QEE Tax Credit Program allows Georgia residents and corporations to receive tax credits for donations to student scholarship organizations (SSOs) like Pay it Forward Scholarships. In turn, the SSOs, provide student scholarships to parents of eligible children who are attending private school. The tax credit program provides a state of Georgia, dollar-for-dollar tax credit when Georgia taxpayers request the tax credit, are approved, and then donate their tax credit to Pay it Forward Scholarships. Tax credits are available on a first-come, first served basis through the Georgia Department of Revenue (GA DOR). PIFS requests tax credits from the GA DOR on behalf of donors annually in January. Tax credit donations must be made within 60 days of being approved. Taxpayers decide what school they want their funds to benefit. The QEE Tax Credit program funds scholarships for students at approved private schools in Georgia.

  • Complete the online request form located here.

  • The deadline is always December 31st for the upcoming tax year. 

    Examples:

    • December 31, 2025, for the 2026 GA QEE Tax Credit

    • December 31, 2026, for the 2027 GA QEE Tax Credit

  • Pay it Forward Scholarships will submit GA QEE tax credit requests on January 1st or the first business day of the New Year as designated by the Georgia Department of Revenue

    Examples:

    • For 2026 GA QEE Tax Credits - all requests were submitted on Friday, January 2, 2026.

    • For 2027 GA QEE Tax Credits - we estimate that all requests will be submitted on Monday, January 4, 2027. This date will be confirmed by the GA DOR sometime in October 2026.

  • When QEE Tax Credit requests exceed the available cap, it results in a proration of all requests submitted on the date the cap was exceeded.

    In 2026, the cap for the QEE Tax Credit requests was $120,000,000.

    Requests far exceeded the $120,000,000 cap on Friday, January 2, 2026, resulting in all requests submitted on that date to be prorated to 48% of the requested amount.

    Historical Look Over the Past Few Years:

    In each of the past 4 years, the cap was exceeded on day 1 - the first business day of January.

    2023, Cap $120 million, Requests $153 million = 78% proration

    2024, Cap $120 million, Requests $190 million = 63% proration

    2025, Cap $120 million, Requests $225 million = 53% proration

    2026, Cap $120 million, Requests $248 million = 48% proration

  • No need to panic! If you received approval for a tax credit, that means you completed a tax credit request form on our website.

    The QEE Tax Credit is an amazing program for Georgia taxpayers. It is a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit, which taxpayers can participate in to help fund scholarships for students to be able to attend the private school of their choice.

    You are now approved to donate any amount up to the amount you were approved and claim and receive a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit on your tax return next year. These are tax dollars you will owe the state of Georgia and are required to pay anyway. Once you donate, PIFS will provide you with a receipt showing the donation and it will be as if you have already paid the state of Georgia that money when you file your 2026 tax return.

    Rest assured, however, there is no obligation to participate at (donate) the full amount you were approved. It is always ok to donate less than you were approved, we simply ask that in future years, you request the amount you intend to donate.

    There is also no penalty if you decide not to participate (donate) at any amount. We simply ask that you do not submit a tax credit request in the future.

    All this being said, we hope you will choose to participate, at some level this year, to at least see how the program works. We think once you have gone through an entire year’s cycle, you will see the benefit. Again - it costs you nothing to participate. These are tax dollars you are going to send to the state of Georgia next year anyway - instead - allow these tax dollars to provide scholarships for students!

  • There are several explanations for why this may have occurred.

    • We were unable to submit your request for the amount indicated on your initial form.

    • We may have received an error from the Georgia Department of Revenue during the submission process.

    • You may have submitted a request through more than one SSO (student scholarship organization).

    If you would like us to look up your record and troubleshoot your specific situation, please contact our office!

  • PIFS submitted your request to the GA DOR however it would not go through with the information provided. Things that can cause an error include

    • Incorrect name submitted

      • Typo in the name

      • Do you have a suffix after your last name (ex. Jr/Sr)?

      • Is your name hyphenated?

      • Were you recently married? Or divorced?

      • Do you go by a maiden name?

    • Incorrect ID

    • Taxpayer recently moved to Georgia and has not filed a Georgia return previously

  • More than one request was submitted to the GDOR on your behalf. This duplicate request may haveoccurred within the same SSO or from multiple SSOs. Contact PIFS for more information.

About the QEE Tax Credit

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  • Proof of public school enrollment (report card), Birth certificate (applicable to students eligible for Pre-K, Kindergarten, or 1st Grade), Proof of another SSO scholarship award, proof of home school (declaration of intent), Parent’s driver’s license and proof of residency (only applicable to students eligible under the criteria of being zoned to attend a low-performing public school as designated by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, proof of bullying.