This Tax Day is the perfect moment to shine a light on something that has received far too little attention. Back to serving as President Reagan’s Secretary of Education, I have always advocated for the fundamental 3C’s of education: Character, Content and Choice.
One of the most important developments in decades is about to unfold, impacting all three of the C’s, and it is directly related to Tax Day.
Look at your tax return this year. Go down to the bottom lines, even if you received a refund this year (many more did thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill), you still likely paid a significant sum over the year in taxes.
Well, come next tax year that sum in taxes paid could be $1,700 less, and you could instead use those exact same dollars to help families choose the school or educational resources that their parents know is best for their child.
At zero cost to you.
There is absolutely no reason every federal income taxpayer in the nation should not take advantage of this new law for their 2027 taxes.
This new tax credit can generate millions to help families choose the best school for their child, or to meet critical supplemental needs like math and literacy tutoring or access to courses and important content they can’t get at their school.
This all can happen because under the new law, starting with tax year 2027, any federal taxpayer can give $1,700 to a Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO) to fund those educational choices of parents, and receive a dollar-for-dollar credit on any federal income taxes paid or due. Meaning at zero cost to that taxpayer.
Personally, I am very excited to be involved with the launch of a new SGO that is going to provide families with scholarships for access to outstanding character, patriotic, and classical educational programming. All things so missing in far too many schools today. I am proud that three incredible and pioneering leaders in school choice and reform have joined me in advising that effort, former Governors Mitch Daniels, Doug Ducey and Tommy Thompson. I encourage all state and community leaders to step up and get involved in this.
While we certainly hope you would consider directing $1,700 to our new SGO and its unique focus, we also hope 100s of other SGO’s launch to provide universal access to an incredible range of schools and programming and give parents options they can only dream of today….but can become reality in 2027.
While the OBBBA was passed by Republicans in Congress and signed by President Trump, this groundbreaking initiative is for everyone. In fact, two leading Democrat Governors have already indicated they will sign their states up to participate because of the benefits that all students and families can receive. If your Governor has not already signed your state up, do not let them leave your state’s families behind because of politics. Also, and this is an especially critical point, all federal income taxpayers in every state can take advantage of this new $1,700 credit, no matter if their Governor allows that state’s families to receive scholarships or not.
Employers have a key role to play in this too. Employers should take steps now to make it easy for their employees to participate in 2027 in this incredible new opportunity. Build it into payroll and deduction systems so that any employee can easily direct $1,700 to a great SGO with their withholding adjusted accordingly. Make it easy and, in real time, zero cost to the employee.
Tax Day is not always a day to get excited. However, as someone who has spent a lifetime advancing the fundamental 3C’s of education, this Tax Day is a wonderful time to get excited and start acting upon what can be in eight short months.
About the author:
Dr. William J. Bennett is the former Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan and the nation’s first Drug Czar under President George H.W. Bush, Bennett is one of America’s most recognized voices on cultural, political and educational issues. He also served as a professor at Boston University, the University of Texas, and Harvard University.
A native of Brooklyn in New York City, Bennett studied philosophy at Williams College (B.A.) and the University of Texas (Ph.D.) and earned a law degree (J.D.) from Harvard.
Bennett currently serves as chairman of Resilience Learning. He has written or co-authored more than 25 books, including the Book of Virtues.
