Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC)

The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) is a state scholarship program under s. 1002.395, paid for by businesses that donate to scholarship funding organizations (SFOs) in return for Florida tax credits. Most FTC money now funds the Personalized Education Program (PEP), which is closed to new students for 2026-27²; FTC's private-school track is small, with 1,013³ students forecast statewide for 2026-27. Families who want private school apply once for the "Private School Scholarship," and the SFO decides whether FTC or FES-EO pays. Step Up For Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation run FTC⁴.

Where FTC money comes from

FTC is not paid from the state education budget. Businesses give money to an SFO and take a credit against certain Florida taxes; the statute lists the corporate income tax credit and a motor-vehicle sales tax credit among the funding sources⁵. Step Up For Students describes its FTC money as corporate tax-credit donations that it raises⁶.

Total credits are capped each year. The 2026-27 cap has not been published⁷; the last published cap was $1,091,957,093⁸ (2024-25). In January 2026 the state's Office of Economic and Demographic Research forecast $835,600,000⁹ in FTC credits plus $73,500,000⁹ in motor-vehicle sales tax credits for 2026-27, and $713,825,676 in FTC scholarships.

You may see the word "Hope" next to FTC. Sunshine State Kids Foundation's "Hope" site, for example, is a portal for car dealers’ contributions under the motor-vehicle sales tax credit¹⁰. That money is FTC money. The old Hope Scholarship ended in 2024¹¹; the Hope Program is now only a referral to FES-EO and FTC.

Businesses interested in giving should start with the SFOs' own donor pages. This state credit is separate from the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit, which starts in 2027 and runs through scholarship granting organizations (SGOs), a separate federal category.

Two uses of FTC money: PEP and private school

The private-school track is shrinking further. For 2026-27, the Office of Economic and Demographic Research forecasts 1,013³ FTC private-school scholarships statewide (August 2026 forecast) and 84,922³ PEP students (March 2026 forecast; the August PEP forecast is pending). Forecasts count differently from the funded-student table above, so compare them with care.

The law limits PEP to 140,000¹³ students in 2026-27, and that limit is set to be repealed on July 1, 2027¹³. Step Up For Students and AAA Scholarship Foundation both closed PEP to new 2026-27 students²¹⁴; Sunshine State Kids Foundation does not offer PEP¹⁵. Details are on the PEP page.

Who qualifies for FTC

• Basic test: a Florida resident (or the dependent of an active-duty service member with orders to Florida, or with Florida as home of record at renewal) who is eligible to enroll in a Florida public school in K-12, or who held a Hope Scholarship in 2023-24¹⁶.
• Private-school track: the student attends an eligible private school full time and is not registered in a home education program⁵.
• Income: no limit. By law, an SFO must use up its renewal funds before making any new award¹⁷. New awards then go first to households at or below 185%¹⁸ of the federal poverty level or in foster care, then up to 400%¹⁹. See the income priority limits.
• No Social Security number: at Step Up For Students, a student without one is considered for FTC only²⁰. The Private School Scholarship page shows how each SFO handles this.

If an SFO turns a student down only because it has run out of FTC money, the law requires it to refer the student to another SFO that may have funds²¹.

When you can apply

For the private-school track, the law sets no closing date. The SFOs set their own:

Sunshine State Kids Foundation is approved by the State Board of Education for FTC²⁸, but its website presents only FES-EO and FES-UA²⁹, and its FAQ describes FES-EO as “also called FTC”³⁰. If you apply there, ask which program would fund your child. Our application guide links each SFO's application site.

How much FTC pays

FTC uses the same county-and-grade table as FES-EO and PEP. For 2026-27 the statewide median is $8,312³¹; kindergarten through grade 3 pays $8,336³¹ in Polk County and $8,779³¹ in Lee County, for example. See all counties on the award amounts page.

Students first funded under FTC in 2018-19 keep a protected amount: the greater of the current table or 88% (grades K-5), 92% (6-8) or 96%³² (9-12) of the statewide per-student funding amount. Unspent money rolls over, but new deposits stop once the balance is above $24,000³³.

Because each SFO raises its own FTC donations, FTC and PEP money does not move with a student to a different SFO³⁴, according to Step Up For Students. See the switching FAQ before changing SFOs.

How FTC differs from nearby programs

• FES-EO covers the same private-school purpose with state budget money and now funds most private-school scholarship students.
• PEP is the FTC-funded account for students not enrolled full time in a school.
• FES-UA is the state-funded account for students with disabilities.
• The federal Education Freedom Tax Credit is not open yet³⁵; Florida's first list of eligible scholarship granting organizations is due February 15, 2027³⁶.

Related

• All Florida K-12 scholarship programs
• Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES-EO and FES-UA)
• Eligibility for every program · Florida K-12 scholarship deadlines
• FAQ: private schools · FAQ: eligibility
• Compare the scholarship funding organizations
• Step Up For Students · AAA Scholarship Foundation