Overview:  
A refundable income tax credit between $5,000-$7,500 is allowed for eligible Oklahoma taxpayers who pay, or expect to pay, qualified expenses such as tuition and fees to an eligible private school on behalf of an eligible student that attends or plans to attend an eligible private school during that school year. The Oklahoma Tax Commission can only authorize $250 million of tax credits for the 2025-2026 school year. Priority will be given to Applicants claiming credits for eligible students whose parents or legal guardians have a combined federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) that does not exceed One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000) (“priority applicants”). To receive priority consideration, Applicants must submit their applications on or before 60 days after the application opens. Those applications that are approved will receive the credit in two installment payments. Income will be determined using federal AGI from two years prior to the year in which the credit application is being submitted. 
 

1. Taxpayer: An eligible taxpayer is someone who is subject to the tax laws of the state of Oklahoma and who is a biological or adoptive parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to act on behalf of the eligible student. 
   
   
2. Student: An eligible student is a resident of Oklahoma and is eligible to enroll in an Oklahoma public school for grades pre-k through 12th grade. Please note that the child must be 4 years old on or before September 1st of the ensuing school year to qualify. Additionally, the student must be enrolled in and attending or planning to enroll in an eligible private school in Oklahoma. 
   
   
3. School: An eligible school must be located in Oklahoma and accredited by the Oklahoma State Board of Education or another accrediting association. The Oklahoma Tax Commission is not an accrediting association. Each eligible school must complete the School Participation Form in order for its students to participate in the program.

Taxpayer Eligibility

• An eligible taxpayer is someone who is subject to the tax laws of the state of Oklahoma, and who is a biological or adoptive parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to act on behalf of the eligible student. 
• A nonresident military service member stationed in Oklahoma qualifies as an eligible Oklahoma taxpayer. 

Student Eligibility

• An eligible student is a resident of Oklahoma and is eligible to enroll in an Oklahoma public school for grades pre-k through 12th grade. Please note that the child must be 4 years old on or before September 1st of the ensuing school year to qualify. Additionally, the student must be enrolled in and attending or planning to enroll in an eligible private school in Oklahoma. 

School Eligibility

• An eligible school must be physically located in Oklahoma and accredited by the Oklahoma State Board of Education or another accrediting association. The Oklahoma Tax Commission is not an accrediting association. Each eligible school must register with the Oklahoma Tax Commission on OkTAP and complete the School Participation Form in order for its students to participate in the program. 

• To claim the Parental Choice Tax Credit, the taxpayer must apply online at OkTAP . The application will be available on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 9 a.m. An OkTAP account is not needed to submit an application. 

• Taxpayers must submit a separate application for each individual student.

• Taxpayers will be required to provide an Enrollment Verification Number (EVN) for each student as part of the application. Applicants must request an EVN from their eligible participating private school.

• Taxpayers must provide the student’s parent or legal guardian’s Federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for the second preceding tax year. For example, if you are applying for the Parental Choice Tax Credit for school year 2025-2026, you will provide the Federal AGI from tax year 2023, not tax year 2024. You may be required to provide a copy of the 2023 Oklahoma income tax return or federal income tax return.

The application will be available for taxpayers to complete on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 9 a.m. CST.

Enrollment Verification Number

The parent or legal guardian must request an Enrollment Verification Number (EVN) for each student from an eligible participating private school their student(s) attends or plans to attend. The school will provide a unique EVN for each student that will be submitted on an individual application. The EVN will be provided via email.

Personal Information

• Taxpayer(s) and/or parent/legal guardian’s information, to include:

1.     Name

2.     Address

3.     Phone number

4.     Email

5.     Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)

• Student Information, to include:

1.     Name

2.     Date of birth

3.     Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).

Parental Consent Form (if applicable)

If you are not the student’s parent or legal guardian, you will be required to provide a Parental Consent Form. The form is used to obtain verifiable consent from the parent or legal guardian of the eligible student(s) for another taxpayer to participate in the program.

Federal Adjusted Gross Income

Federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of the student’s parent or legal guardian during the second preceding tax year. For example, if you are participating in the program for school year 2025-2026, the second preceding tax year would be 2023, not tax year 2024.

1.     Individuals who have not yet filed a 2023 Oklahoma income tax return will need to file their required 2023 Oklahoma tax return prior to submitting an application OR submit a copy of their 2023 IRS Form 1040.

2.     Individuals who did not have an Oklahoma tax filing requirement for 2023 will need to attest to not having a filing requirement.

Case Number/Member ID and Confirmation of Benefits (if applicable)

If you are a recipient of income-based government benefits including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Sooner Care/SoonerSelect, you will be required to provide your Case Number/Member ID and Confirmation of Benefits for each applicable benefit.

Applications with a priority status will be reviewed during the priority period.

•  The priority period is 60 days from the application open date, February 18, 2025, at 9 a.m. through April 19, 2025, at 9 a.m.
•  Priority applicants are those with a Federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $150,000 or less.
•  Priority applications will be reviewed and notified of application status within 30 days from the date of the submission.

After all priority applications submitted during the priority period have been reviewed and a final determination is made, all other applicants can expect to be notified of their status within approximately 30 days of the priority period ending or within 30 days of application submission if submitted at a later date. Please note, each application is unique, and as such, a manual review may be conducted to ensure accuracy.

Once a completed application is submitted, taxpayers may view the status of the application via OkTAP by accessing the ‘Parental Choice Tax Credit Application Status’ link. The following information will be required to view the status of your application:

• Taxpayer's Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
• Taxpayer's Legal Last Name
• Taxpayer's Zip Code
• Application ID

Upon submission, taxpayers will receive an email confirming receipt of the application. Please note, that it could take up to six hours to receive the confirmation email due to the high volume of applications.  The application will go through the following steps:

•  Verification that the application was filled out completely.
•   Verification of student’s parent/legal guardian’s Federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), if applicable.
•  Verification of the income-based government benefits including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or SoonerCare/SoonerSelect, if applicable.
•  Verification of documentation provided on the application, if applicable.

Once verification has been completed, the taxpayer will be notified of the status of the application via email. Taxpayers may also view the status of the application online at  OkTAP.

Applications with a priority status will be reviewed during the priority period.

•  The priority period is 60 days from the application open date, February 18, 2025, at 9 a.m. through April 19, 2025, at 9 a.m.
•  Priority applicants are those with a Federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $150,000 or less.
•  Priority applications will be reviewed and notified of application status within 30 days from the date of the submission.

After all priority applications submitted during the priority period have been reviewed and a final determination is made, all other applicants can expect to be notified of their status within approximately 30 days of the priority period ending or within 30 days of application submission if submitted at a later date. Please note, each application is unique, and as such, a manual review may be conducted to ensure accuracy.

Your application may have been denied due to one of the following reasons below. To review your completed application, navigate to OkTAP and click the Parental Choice Tax Credit Application Status link.

•  Duplicate application

o   This means an application has already been received for this student's Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).

-   Below are a few examples:

•  You submitted two applications for two individual students but entered the same SSN on both applications.

•  An application was submitted for the student by two individual taxpayers.

•  Two applications were submitted for two different schools for one student.

•  Unable to verify taxpayer information

o   Below are a few examples:

-   The taxpayer entered their SSN incorrectly which resulted in the Oklahoma Tax Commission being unable to verify tax return information.

-   The taxpayer stated that they filed their Oklahoma tax return for 2023, a processed return was not found on or before the day of submission.

-   The taxpayer stated that they filed their Oklahoma tax return for 2023, but their return was reversed, rejected, or invalid.

•   Unable to verify income-based government benefits

o   DHS and/or OHCA were unable to verify that the taxpayer is a recipient of an income-based government benefits: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or SoonerCare/SoonerSelect.

-   For example: the taxpayer entered the student’s SoonerCare Member ID rather than their own. Statute requires the taxpayer to be receiving the benefit not the student.

Yes. In addition to taxpayer and student identification information and an Enrollment Verification Number for each student, active military service members stationed in Oklahoma may need to submit their Form 1040 Federal Tax Return for the tax year 2023.

To be eligible to apply, your student(s) must reside in Oklahoma at the time of the application.  If you need additional information, please contact the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

• Individuals who did not have an Oklahoma tax filing requirement for 2023 or have not yet filed a 2023 Oklahoma income tax return will need to submit a 2023 IRS Form 1040.

• Individuals who did not have an Oklahoma tax filing requirement for 2023 will need to attest to not having a filing requirement.

Browse through the list of participating schools to see if your school is participating. Click the link below to download the most updated list of accredited schools.

Participating Accredited Schools List

All accredited private schools must register to participate in the Parental Choice Tax Credit program and be approved to generate Enrollment Verification Numbers for students. Taxpayers are encouraged to point school officials to OkTAP to submit their registration.

In the case of having multiple eligible students, the taxpayer may receive the tax credit for each eligible student. For example, if the Federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of the parent or legal guardian of the student is $75,000 or less, the taxpayer may qualify for up to $7,500 per year per eligible student. It is important to note that separate Enrollment Verification Numbers are required for each student and a separate application must be submitted for each individual student.

Beginning school year 2025-2026, and for all subsequent school years, the credit amount per eligible student is equal to the Maximum Credit Amount Per Student, as shown in the table below, or the anticipated private school tuition and fees for the school year, whichever is less. The anticipated tuition and fees for school year must be reflected in the student’s Enrollment Verification information provided by the eligible school. The Maximum Credit Amount is determined by the total federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of the student's parent/legal guardian during the second preceding tax year. For example, if you are participating in the program for school year 2025-2026, the second preceding tax year would be 2023.

For school year 2025-2026, the OTC cannot authorize more than $250 million in tax credits. 

For tax credits awarded to students enrolled in an eligible private school, the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC) will send the tax credit payments directly to the school in two installments. Each installment payment will not exceed half of the allowable credit for the applicable school year. While the payments are sent to the school, the checks will be made payable to the taxpayer submitting the application. Taxpayers will be required to personally appear at the school to either sign the check over to the school or collect the check from the school if tuition and fees have already been paid.

The credit must be issued in two installment payments. 

The first installment payment is expected to be issued in August 2025; payments will be processed in the order applications are approved. The installment payments will be disbursed by paper check made payable to the taxpayer. Checks will begin processing on a weekly basis and will be sent directly to the schools.  

 
Second installment payments are expected to be issued beginning January 2026. 

Yes. Any taxpayer wishing to participate in the program for the 2025-2026 school year must apply when applications open on February 18, 2025, at 9 a.m.

An Enrollment Verification Number (EVN) is a unique identifier for an eligible student who attends or plans to attend a registered private school which verifies the details of the student’s enrollment, including tuition, fees, and scholarships. This will replace the Enrollment Verification Form (EVF) used in year one of the program.

Taxpayers must request an EVN for each student from the school their student(s) attends or plans to attend. An email containing the EVN will be sent directly to the taxpayer on behalf of the participating school, which will be used during the Parental Choice Tax Credit program application process.

Only a registered accredited private school can provide an EVN to a taxpayer and the unique EVN can only be used once.

If you identify any errors with the information provided in the email, please contact your student’s school directly as they will need to update your Enrollment Verification information and generate a new email. Please note, if you need to make a change to your Enrollment Verification information after you have submitted your Parental Choice Tax Credit application, you will need to withdraw your previous application before your school can adjust your Enrollment Verification information and you will be able to submit a new application. Your position in line for the original application will not be retained.

•  Individuals who are not the student’s parent or legal guardian, will be required to provide a Parental Consent Form.
•  Individuals who have not yet filed a 2023 Oklahoma income tax return AND have a filing requirement will be required to attach a copy of their 2023 IRS Form 1040.
• Recipients of income-based government benefits including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Sooner Care/SoonerSelect, will be required to attach their Confirmation of Benefits for each applicable benefit.

Enrollment Verification emails are sent to the primary parent or legal guardian. If you did not receive an Enrollment Verification email for your student(s), please contact your student’s school to confirm the email on file for the primary parent is accurate and request that the email be resent.

Taxpayers must be an Oklahoma taxpayer and student must reside in Oklahoma to be eligible to apply.

The Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC) acknowledges that there may be circumstances where a taxpayer is not the parent or legal guardian of the eligible student(s) but may claim qualified expense(s) for the Parental Choice Tax Credit program.

Parental Choice Tax Credit Consent Form

The OTC has established the Parental Consent Form to:

• Validate that no other person is claiming a credit for the eligible student(s);
• Protect the privacy of the individuals identified on the application(s) for the program; and
• Obtain verifiable consent from the parent or legal guardian of the eligible student(s) for another Taxpayer, the “authorized taxpayer,” to participate in the Parental Choice Tax Credit program.

Please note: if a Parental Consent Form is provided, we will use the parent or legal guardian’s Federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) not the taxpayer’s.

Yes. If your application is denied, you will receive a letter with more information as to the reason the application was denied and instructions on how to request a hearing before the Oklahoma Tax Commission. The hearing will be in-person and will give you the opportunity to appear and provide further documentation and/or information to show why you believe your application should be approved.

Yes. However, there is not an application process for the homeschool tax credit, rather it must be claimed on your tax return. The homeschool tax credit is a maximum of $1,000 per eligible student. Receipts for the eligible expenses claimed must be submitted with the form 591-D Parental Choice Tax Credit for Homeschool Expenses.

2024 Form 591-D Parental Choice Tax Credit for Homeschool Expenses

Qualifying expenses are tuition and fees paid to an eligible private school that is accredited by the Oklahoma State Board of Education or another accrediting association.

Eligible fees may include enrollment, registration, or application fees; textbook fees; technology fees; activity fees; testing and assessment fees; and fees paid for school uniforms if paid directly to the school.

For Spring 2025:

• If your student(s) is transferring to another participating accredited private school, you will need you to provide interim Enrollment Verification information from the new school.
  
  
  Taxpayers must request the interim Enrollment Verification information from the student’s new school and email it to  parentalchoice@tax.ok.gov. This is used to ensure that the school is a participating accredited private school, and to confirm enrollment.

For School Year 2025-2026:

• More information to come.

It is the taxpayer’s responsibility to inform the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC) if their student(s) is no longer attending a participating accredited private school and would like to withdraw from the Parental Choice Tax Credit program.

To withdraw your student(s) from the program, please email parentalchoice@tax.ok.gov informing us of your request to withdraw in writing.

The OTC is authorized to recapture any credits claimed for unauthorized expenditures or credits claimed for a student who no longer attends a participating accredited private school. Taxpayers are responsible for repayment of any recaptured tax credits to the OTC; the OTC will use all available avenues for collection of recaptured amounts.

The Oklahoma Tax Commission obtained information from your participating private school indicating that you did not qualify for all or a portion of the credit. Reasons you may not qualify for the credit may include but are not limited to:

•  The credit was claimed for expenditures that were not qualified expenses;

•  The taxpayer has claimed an eligible student who no longer attends a private school or has enrolled in a public school for the period for which the credit was claimed;

•  or taxpayer fails to comply with the applicable Oklahoma statutes and regulations.

•  Your individual income tax refund may be intercepted.

•  If the balance is not paid in full by the due date, penalty and interest will be assessed.

•  You may have a tax lien issued, your wages garnished, or your bank account levied, be subject to the federal Treasury Offset Program (TOP), and/or be referred to a third party collection agency with additional fees added to the amount you owe.

Statute requires the taxpayer to be receiving the benefit not the student.

Your SoonerCare/ SoonerSelect Medicaid Member ID can be found on your confirmation of benefits letter. An example can be found here.

Your Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Case Number can be found on your confirmation of benefits letter. An example can be found here.

Your Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Member ID can be found on your confirmation of benefits letter. An example can be found here.

Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code § 6050E, a Form 1099-G must be issued for certain types of government payments, including state or local income tax refunds, credits, or offsets. The OTC is required to issue a Form 1099-G to taxpayers who receive a Parental Choice Tax Credit payment. This does not mean the credit is taxable. Please consult a tax professional if you need more information.

Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code § 6050E, a Form 1099-G must be issued for certain types of government payments, including state or local income tax refunds, credits, or offsets. If you receive a refund, credit, or offset during the same year related to more than 1 tax year, the amount for each year must be reported on a separate Form 1099-G.

If you received more than one 1099-G from the Oklahoma Tax Commission, please refer to box 1 of the 1099-G to determine which tax year the 1099-G relates to. If box 1 shows 2023, that 1099-G reflects a state income tax refund, credit or offset issued to you in calendar year 2024 that was related to tax year 2023. If box 1 shows 2024, that 1099-G reflects the Parental Choice Tax Credit issued to you during calendar year 2024 related to tax year 2024.

The OTC cannot advise taxpayers how to report this information. Please contact your tax professional if you need more information.

HB3388 exempted the Parental Choice Tax Credit from Oklahoma income tax.

The Oklahoma Tax Commission cannot make a determination on whether a Parental Choice Tax Credit payment is taxable to a taxpayer for federal income tax purposes; that determination is based on each taxpayer’s individual facts and circumstances. Please contact your tax professional if you need more information.