IRS releases Form 15714 — states can pre-elect §25F (FSTC) participation

On December 12, 2025, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued IR-2025-121 and released Form 15714, “Advance Election to Participate by State for the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC).” The form lets a state declare its intent to be a “covered State” for calendar year 2027 before it submits the formal list of qualifying Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) to the Treasury.

Under the §25F statute, only donations to SGOs whose state has been certified can generate the federal Scholarship Tax Credit, and only K-12 students in a covered State are eligible to receive those scholarships. Form 15714 gives states a way to lock in their participation early in the program year so that donors and SGOs in those states have certainty about eligibility before the program's January 1, 2027 launch.

The advance election is optional: a state may choose to file Form 15714 on or after January 1, 2026 and before its final SGO-list deadline, or it may simply submit the SGO list directly when ready. The IRS has said additional deadlines and procedures for subsequent years (2028 and beyond) will be issued in future guidance. The form complements the broader rulemaking process initiated through Notice 2025-70, which is gathering public comment on state certification, SGO requirements, donor substantiation, and household-income verification.

For donors and families, Form 15714 doesn't change who is eligible for the credit or the scholarships — those rules come from the §25F statute itself — but it does add an early signal about which states will be participating. As of mid-2026, states have been using a mix of paths to opt in: gubernatorial certifications, legislative bills, and in two cases (Kentucky and Kansas) legislative veto overrides.