In his Jan. 14, 2026 State of the State address, Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe announced that Missouri will opt into the federal scholarship tax credit (§25F), letting donors claim up to $1,700 in federal credits beginning in 2027.
Missouri will opt into the federal scholarship tax credit, Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe announced in his 2026 State of the State address on January 14, 2026. The 58th governor told lawmakers the state intends to participate in the program in 2027, which would let Missouri donors receive up to $1,700 in federal tax credits for contributions to scholarship granting organizations. The federal credit, codified at IRC §25F and enacted as part of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, is a dollar-for-dollar credit that takes effect on January 1, 2027. Missouri now appears on the IRS roster of states signed up to participate, which the agency posted on June 8, 2026 with 27 states listed.
The governor announced the state's intent to opt in, though the exact procedural route has not yet been specified in the public record. Under §25F, state participation is voluntary, and the program is structured so that participating states identify the SGOs that will deliver federally backed scholarships to families. Several states have reached the federal program by an executive decision, others through legislation, and a handful through legislative veto overrides. Missouri's announcement places it alongside early movers such as Virginia, Colorado, and Florida, all of which committed ahead of the January 2027 launch.
Missouri is not starting from scratch on tax-credit scholarships. The state already runs MOScholars, a program that awards state tax credits for contributions to educational assistance organizations and is administered by the Missouri State Treasurer's office. The federal §25F credit is a separate, federally administered program: the Treasurer's MOScholars materials do not reference it, and the state credit and the federal credit are governed by different rules and different authorities. Donors and operators should treat them as distinct tracks rather than assuming the two stack or share oversight. In the same address, Kehoe also proposed a $60 million funding increase for MOScholars, a state-level matter separate from the federal opt-in.
For SGO operators, the practical takeaway is that Missouri families and donors are now on a path to the federal credit beginning in 2027, with the $1,700 dollar-for-dollar figure matching the §25F statute (and consistent with our explainer on why the cap is $1,700, not $3,400). Organizations that want to raise federal §25F dollars will need infrastructure built for the program's intake, allocation, and reporting requirements. Operators evaluating their options can review our SGO directory and the operator explainers in our learn center, including software purpose-built for §25F donation processing.
Missouri's move is a snapshot in a fast-moving national picture. With the IRS list still growing and Treasury having previewed proposed regulations in June 2026, the operational details of how participating states deliver the credit are still being filled in. We track every state's status on the national map, and Missouri's specifics live on its state page, which we will update as the state confirms its participation mechanism and as the program approaches its 2027 start date.
