Indiana opens its §25F SGO application: one Department of Education form for the state and federal programs, approval by December 31

Indiana is taking applications. The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) now runs one online application, the State + Federal SGO Application, for organizations that want to be certified for Indiana's own scholarship tax credit, for the state's list under the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit (IRC §25F), or for both. To be on Indiana's 2027 federal list, the department says, qualifying organizations “must have applied and been approved by December 31, 2026.” Gov. Mike Braun is urging organizations to apply, WOWO reported on October 20.

The law behind it. A 2026 state law, Indiana Code 20-53, makes the department the list-builder. It tells IDOE to elect to participate “as early as practicable,” to “accept applications throughout the year,” and to submit the list to Treasury and publish it on its website “not later than the first day of January each year.” Gov. Braun announced Indiana's participation on January 22, and Indiana is on the IRS list of participating states. The federal deadline for 2027 lists is February 15, 2027 under Treasury's temporary regulations, which take effect without a comment period and apply from September 1, 2026, so Indiana's own dates come first: approval by December 31, then the list by January 1 (the full calendar).

What the form asks for. The first choice is the certification you want: State, Federal or Both. An organization already certified for Indiana's state credit that wants the federal list picks Both. The form then asks whether you operate as an SGO in other states, which student populations you plan to serve, and which expense categories you'll fund, sorted into ones eligible under both programs (tuition and fees) and ones the department marks as federal only. You upload your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, your articles of incorporation or other proof the organization is organized to grant school scholarships, your SGO policies and procedures, and your program materials, including eligibility criteria and application forms. An officer certifies under penalty of perjury that the submission is accurate and that the organization will send IDOE the data, reports and financial audit it asks for. Neither the page nor the form lists a fee. Once approved, an SGO doesn't reapply each year unless it is removed or withdraws.

One test to ask about. Indiana's law lists an organization that “is a nonprofit organization with the primary purpose of providing scholarships to students” and meets §25F's requirements (IC 20-53-1-4). §25F has no primary-purpose test. It asks for a 501(c)(3) public charity that meets the 90 percent spending rule and the other operating requirements, and Treasury's proposed regulations let an organization whose activities are at least 85 percent scholarship granting apply the spending rule to a separate §25F account (the 85 percent safe harbor). The temporary regulations bar a state from requiring SGOs to operate more restrictively than §25F (one national standard). If scholarships aren't your organization's main line of work, ask IDOE how it reads the primary-purpose language before you apply.

Located in Indiana. The list covers organizations “located in Indiana.” Under the temporary regulations that means authorized to do business in Indiana and in compliance with its general charity laws; an Indiana headquarters isn't required. The form takes an address anywhere, and it doesn't say what an out-of-state applicant has to show, so an organization based elsewhere should register to do business in Indiana and ask IDOE what proof it wants. The residence rule still applies: a scholarship from an Indiana-listed SGO goes to a student who lives in Indiana (scholarships follow the student's state).

Two credits, two lists. Indiana's state program gives donors a 50 percent state tax credit for gifts to SGOs certified for it. The federal credit is up to $1,700 per taxpayer for qualified contributions made from January 1, 2027, or $3,400 on a joint return when each spouse gives, under Treasury's proposed regulations, which taxpayers may rely on for 2027. Being certified for one program doesn't put an organization on the other, which is why the form asks.

For organizations. Have your 501(c)(3) determination letter, a segregated §25F account, and governing documents and written policies that state the §25F rules in so many words: a new organization is judged on those documents until it has a track record (§ 1.25F-5T(d)(4)). Then apply well before December 31. Our free SGO builder walks through each step, our Indiana page and Indiana SGO list page track the state's process, and every state's official list is in one place.