How to become an SGO in Georgia
Georgia is in the federal scholarship tax credit for 2027 but hasn't opened its application yet. Its list is due to the IRS by February 15, 2027, and it has to include every qualifying nonprofit that applies. Steps 1 to 5 below can be done now. If your nonprofit is incorporated in another state, Georgia's fees to get listed come to $270 before any application fee.
Deadline
Not open yet
Pending 1023 OK?
Not published yet
Application fee
Not published yet
State fees from out of state
$270, then $50/yr
How to apply in Georgia
Georgia has elected into §25F, but there is nothing to file yet. Watch the Governor's office and the Department of Revenue for a designated SGO-listing process. In the meantime, Georgia's existing Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit program (a separate state credit, not §25F) is run through the Department of Revenue's Georgia Tax Center, which shows the kind of office likely to end up handling §25F paperwork once Georgia names an administrator.
What it costs in Georgia
For a nonprofit incorporated in another state. If you’re incorporated in Georgia, skip the registration line: your articles already cover it.
| What | Paid to | Once | Each year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia SGO application | Not named yet | Not published | |
| Application for Certificate of Authority (Form CD 236)Registers your nonprofit to do business in Georgia. $225 plus a $10 service charge | Georgia Secretary of State | $235 | |
| Annual registration$40, filed January 1 to April 1 | Georgia Secretary of State | $40 | |
| Charitable organization registrationExempt while contributions stay under $25,000 a year with no paid solicitor | Georgia Secretary of State | $35 | $20 every two years |
| Registered agentOnly if you have no Georgia address of your own. Commercial agents’ published prices. | A registered agent company | $100 to $160 | |
| Georgia state fees | $270 | $50 | |
The same wherever you apply: $600 to the IRS for Form 1023 ($275 for the EZ version, if you expect $50,000 a year or less in receipts), and a yearly audit once you’re listed, which Treasury estimates at about $10,000 at $500,000 or less in receipts and $30,000 above. Every state’s fees →
Fees checked October 20, 2026.
Your checklist for Georgia
Steps 1 to 5 are the same in every state, and you can do them now. Step 6 is Georgia’s application. Tick them off as you go; this browser remembers.
0 of 7 done · saved in this browser
Track it with an account in the free SGO Builder →1.Be a 501(c)(3) public charity
The IRS has to recognize you as a 501(c)(3), and you can't be a private foundation. Georgia hasn't said whether it takes nonprofits whose Form 1023 is still pending. If it does, it has to take every pending applicant that asks. Under Treasury's temporary regulations, a state can list a nonprofit whose Form 1023 is still pending only if the exemption, once granted, takes effect by January 1 of the list year. For 2027, that means the nonprofit has to be incorporated by December 31, 2026. (An exemption reaches back to the date you incorporated if you file Form 1023 within 27 months.)
2.Register in Georgia
Treasury's rules count you as "located in" Georgia if you're authorized to do business there and follow its charity laws. You don't need an office or staff there. If you're incorporated in another state, you register with the Georgia Secretary of State ($235) and for charitable solicitation with the same office ($35). You'll also need a registered agent with a Georgia address.
3.Open a separate bank account for Georgia
Gifts for the credit go into an account that holds nothing else. If you're on more than one state's list, you keep one account per state and donors pick the state.
4.Put the §25F rules in your bylaws and policies
A new nonprofit has no track record, so the state reads its documents, and a promise to "follow the law" isn't enough. They have to require each rule: at least 90% of your income goes to scholarships, scholarships go to at least 10 students who aren't all at the same school, you verify household income, past recipients come first and then their siblings, no donor can earmark a gift for a particular student, and no scholarships go to insiders.
5.Register in the IRS SGO portal when it opens
Treasury asks every SGO to register in the IRS portal, ideally before a state lists it. The portal gives you the donor-number format your receipts use. It hasn't opened yet.
6.Watch for Georgia's application
Georgia has elected into §25F, but there is nothing to file yet. Watch the Governor's office and the Department of Revenue for a designated SGO-listing process. In the meantime, Georgia's existing Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit program (a separate state credit, not §25F) is run through the Department of Revenue's Georgia Tax Center, which shows the kind of office likely to end up handling §25F paperwork once Georgia names an administrator.
7.After you're listed
Send each donor a written acknowledgment by January 31 and report the gifts to the IRS by February 28. Under Treasury's proposed regulations, which you can rely on for 2027, you also file a yearly certification and report (with a copy to every state that lists you), get a yearly audit, and spend at least 90% of each year's income on scholarships by the end of the next year.
Where Georgia is in the process
Jan 20, 2026 · State opted in
No application process published yet
We check the state's sources regularly
Feb 15, 2027 · Federal deadline for 2027 state lists (expected)
Without a list, no organization in the state qualifies for 2027
Sources
Questions about getting listed in Georgia
How do I become an SGO in Georgia?
Be a 501(c)(3) public charity, register to do business in Georgia and follow its charity laws, open a separate bank account for Georgia's gifts, and put the §25F rules in your bylaws and written policies, then apply when Georgia opens its application. It hasn't yet.
How much does it cost to become an SGO in Georgia?
A nonprofit incorporated in another state pays $235 to register in Georgia and $35 to register for charitable solicitation. That's $270 before any application fee, then about $50 a year. Add a registered agent with a Georgia address if you don't have one (about $100 to $160 a year). The IRS charges $600 for Form 1023 wherever you apply.
What is Georgia's deadline for the 2027 SGO list?
Georgia hasn't published its own deadline yet. Every state's 2027 list is due to the IRS by February 15, 2027, and a state can't add anyone to its 2027 list after that. A gift made in December 2027 earns the credit only if the nonprofit made the 2027 list.
Can a nonprofit from another state get on Georgia's list?
Yes. Under Treasury's temporary regulations, you're located in Georgia if you're authorized to do business there and follow its charity laws. You don't need an office or staff in Georgia, and Georgia has to list every qualifying nonprofit located there that asks. Scholarships from your Georgia account go to students who live in Georgia.
Can we apply in Georgia while our 501(c)(3) application is pending?
Georgia hasn't said whether it takes nonprofits whose Form 1023 is still pending. If it does, it has to take every pending applicant that asks. Under Treasury's temporary regulations, a state can list a nonprofit whose Form 1023 is still pending only if the exemption, once granted, takes effect by January 1 of the list year. For 2027, that means the nonprofit has to be incorporated by December 31, 2026. (An exemption reaches back to the date you incorporated if you file Form 1023 within 27 months.)
Get EFTC updates in your inbox
Stay updated on opt-in votes, guidance, and deadlines as the January 2027 launch approaches.