The law is IRS Section 25F, enacted as part of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21), signed into law in July 2025. It's the first-ever federal school choice tax credit in American history.

Before this, similar programs existed at the state level in places like Arizona and Florida. Section 25F takes that concept national — meaning any U.S. taxpayer can now redirect up to $1,700 of their federal tax bill to a qualifying school scholarship organization, no matter where they live.

This is the most important thing to understand — and the most exciting part of the law.

A tax deduction reduces your taxable income, which might save you 20–30 cents per dollar donated. A tax credit reduces your actual tax bill — dollar for dollar. So if you owe $1,700 in federal taxes and you donate $1,700 to Sunnyside Rising, your tax bill drops by exactly $1,700.

You're not writing a check out of your own pocket — you're redirecting money that was already going to the federal government. The IRS just lets you decide where it goes.

Almost any U.S. taxpayer qualifies — and no, you do not have to live in Colorado. You also don't have to be related to a student at all. A neighbor who wants to invest in their local school, a colleague who cares about education, or simply a good person who wants to make a difference — anyone with a federal tax bill can donate to Sunnyside Rising and claim the credit. Grandparents in Florida, aunts in Texas, alumni in New York — all welcome.

The only requirement is that you have a federal tax liability to offset. If you don't owe that much in a given year, unused credits can be carried forward for up to five years.

Sunnyside Rising's model is built around all students — not just those who qualify on paper. When a school receives SGO-funded resources, every child in that school benefits from the books, technology, tutoring, enrichment programs, and services those funds purchase.

Scholarship funds cover a wide range of qualified K–12 educational expenses — everything from everyday school supplies to specialized services:

Sunnyside Rising reviews and approves every school's itemized budget before a single dollar is spent. We pay approved vendors directly — schools and families never receive funds in cash.

Here's the full journey, start to finish:

Distributions happen quarterly. At least 90 cents of every dollar you donate reaches students — the remaining 10% (maximum) covers platform operations, compliance, and annual independent audits.

The numbers are genuinely remarkable. Colorado has nearly 954,000 K–12 students across public, private, and homeschool settings. At the $1,700 credit maximum, that represents:

Colorado has nearly 2.9 million tax filers. Even a tiny fraction choosing to redirect their taxes can generate transformative results for students statewide.

Great news — Colorado has officially elected to participate. The IRS's Federal Scholarship Tax Credit page lists Colorado as one of the confirmed participating states for 2027. You can verify this directly on the IRS website.

Colorado joins a growing list of states that have formally filed their advance election with the IRS, including Virginia, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, Florida, and many others — confirming that the federal credit will be available for donations to Colorado SGOs starting January 1, 2027.

This is the part that surprises most people. Once you donate, you can adjust your tax withholding so the credit shows up in your paycheck — essentially recovering your donation within weeks, not at tax time.

Our platform will walk you through the exact steps for your situation — no tax expertise required. The goal is simple: your donation goes to a Colorado school, and your take-home pay stays exactly the same.