$1,700, not $3,400: what the §25F statute already settles about the credit

With more than 30 states moving to participate in the federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC / ECCA / §25F) and the program's January 1, 2027 launch approaching, a few donor-level details are drawing scrutiny — and one common assumption appears to be wrong. The §25F statute (and the early reading from tax practitioners) already settles more than the “await guidance” framing suggests.

The cap is $1,700 per return — not $3,400 for a couple. §25F(b)(1) limits the credit “to any taxpayer for any taxable year” to $1,700, and the statute contains no provision doubling that amount for a joint return (there is no “200 percent” or “twice” language of the sort Congress uses elsewhere when it wants to double a married-filing-jointly figure). The prevailing expert reading — reflected, for example, in Brownstein's April 2026 §25F Q&A — is that a married couple filing jointly receives a single $1,700 credit, not $3,400. Two single filers each have their own $1,700 cap on their own returns. Treasury has not issued final guidance on joint-filer treatment, so donors should plan conservatively at $1,700 per return until it does.

You can't double-dip, and you can't stack the federal credit on a state credit for the same dollars. Two statutory rules govern this. Under §25F(e), a contribution for which the §25F credit is claimed cannot also be taken as a charitable deduction under §170 — no credit-plus-deduction on the same gift. And under §25F(b)(2), the federal credit is reduced by the amount of any state tax credit the donor claims for the same qualified contributions. That means donors in states with their own scholarship tax-credit programs cannot claim both the federal and the state credit on a single donation; making separate donations to separate organizations is the way to access both benefits.

What's still genuinely open is narrower than it's sometimes portrayed. The biggest unresolved questions for the forthcoming Treasury proposed regulations involve the Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO) 90% spending test — the statute requires an SGO to spend at least 90% of its income on scholarships, but “income” is not defined and is expected to be addressed in guidance — along with donor substantiation and recordkeeping mechanics and coordination with the Alternative Minimum Tax. Treasury and the IRS received more than 2,200 comments in response to Notice 2025-70 (the comment window closed December 26, 2025) and are expected to issue proposed regulations during 2026 ahead of the launch.

The practical takeaway for donors: budget around a $1,700-per-return federal credit, don't assume $3,400 for joint filers, and treat the federal credit and any state scholarship credit as applying to separate donations rather than the same dollars.