Feb 15, 2027: the deadline for every state's §25F SGO list, and why a new SGO should be formed by January 1

The §25F rules Treasury released on October 1 put real dates on the first year of the Education Freedom Tax Credit. For 2027, a participating state has two deadlines: it files its advance election on Form 15714 "on or before January 1, 2027," and it completes that election by sending the IRS its list of scholarship granting organizations "on or before February 15, 2027." Both dates sit in the temporary regulations (T.D. 10057), which take effect without a comment period and apply from September 1, 2026, so they govern the 2027 launch. Our full breakdown of the rules covers the rest of the package.

For states, the order matters. Treasury counts 30 states that had elected as of August 2026. A state that has not filed yet still can, but for its first year the rules say it "cannot make its election with the submission of the State SGO list"; the Form 15714 advance election has to come first, by January 1. The list then completes the election. A state that files the election and never sends the list is out for the year, because without a list no organization in the state can qualify as an SGO. The procedure builds on Rev. Proc. 2026-6, which opened the advance election last December.

The filing itself runs through a new IRS State section 25F portal. A governor, or whoever state law designates to make elections on federal tax benefits, may authorize up to two designated officials to use it, and each must be an elected official, the Director of Taxation, or an appointed official of the state. States receive a special-purpose EIN for the portal and do not file a Form SS-4. Because the portal is brand new, Treasury says the IRS "is considering the creation of alternative temporary procedures" so that every state that wants in can complete its first-year filing. Until February 15, a state can replace or add to its 2027 list as often as it needs to. After that date it cannot add anyone for 2027; a late organization waits for the 2028 list. State removals can happen at any time during the year, but only through a procedure that gives the organization due process.

From 2028 on, the calendar repeats every year. An election covers one calendar year. A state files its advance election between January 2 and September 30 of the year before, then submits its list between October 1 and January 1, and Treasury clarified that "on or before January 1 of that year" means "up to 11:59 pm on January 1," which gives a newly inaugurated governor the day to act. Once a state has completed its election for a year, it cannot revoke it. A state that wants to stop participating simply does not complete the next year's election.

For SGOs, the date to circle is January 1, 2027. The rules let a state list an organization whose 501(c)(3) application is still pending with the IRS, which is how most new SGOs will reach a 2027 list. The condition is that the organization's exemption, once granted, "will be effective retroactively to a date that is on or before January 1 of the year for which the State SGO list applies." Treasury says that date turns on when the organization was formed, when it applied, and whether it had to make material changes to qualify. An exemption generally reaches back to formation when the application is filed on time, so an organization formed after January 1, 2027 cannot use this route for a 2027 list. A state that uses the pending route must use it for every pending applicant seeking inclusion, not just some.

A new organization will not have a year of operations to show a state, and the rules account for that. Under the transition rule, a state can rely on the organization's governing documents or bylaws, its written policies and procedures, and other documentation it submits, as long as those documents "expressly require" the organization to meet the §25F operating requirements and show its ability and intent to do so. That makes the bylaws and policies you draft this fall the evidence a state reviews this winter. The state-list step of the free SGO Builder and our guide on how to start an SGO walk through what those documents need to say.

Two IRS dates follow. Every SGO must register in the new IRS SGO portal "as soon as possible and preferably before the organization appears on any State SGO list," because registration is how it gets the uniform format for the donor numbers its donors will need. Then, for gifts made in 2027, written acknowledgments go to donors by January 31, 2028, and the SGO reports each donor's total to the IRS by February 28, 2028. The donor number explainer and the SGO compliance calendar lay out the full cycle.

Counting backward from February 15, a state has to finish reviewing applications before it files, so its own application window will close earlier than that. If you are forming an SGO, file the formation papers before January 1, apply for 501(c)(3) status promptly, and watch your state's application process on the states page. The §25F timeline keeps every date in one place, and the free SGO Builder turns them into a checklist.