A tax credit is an amount of money a taxpayer can subtract, dollar for dollar, from the income taxes they owe. The Qualified Foster Child Donation Tax Credit(FSA tax credit) is a state tax credit that can only be used to reduce state income taxes. It does not benefit you if you do not pay Georgia state taxes.

You apply for the credit on the Georgia Tax Center (GTC) website at https://gtc.dor.ga.gov/_/. If you do not already have a GTC account, you will need to create one. Click on “Sign Up” on the GTC Department of Revenue (DOR) site; you will need your prior year Adjusted Gross Income to complete this step. See Creating Georgia Tax Center Account pdf guide here: https://fosteringsuccessact.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Creating-Georgia-Tax-Center-Account.pdf ◦

Next, you will apply for the tax credit with the Department of Revenue (DOR). See QFC Credit Preapproval Instructions here.

The Department of Revenue (DOR) will review your application and notify you within 30 days of your status. Historically, reviews occur within one (1) week.

No, your application has to be processed by the Department of Revenue (DOR) first. Once approved, you will make your payment directly to the Qualified Foster Child Support Organization you selected on your application. You will receive your approval letter through the mail. You may also log into your GTC account and view it online. For Fostering Success Act, Inc., if you started the process with us and we have your email and phone number, we will send you instructions on how to make your payment along with the due date; you have 60 days from the approval letter issue date to pay the full amount or within the calendar year in which your credit was preapproved if there are less than 60 days remaining in the year.

No. We can only accept public stock as a general donation. Your stock broker will need to transfer on record to Fostering Success Act, Inc. (FSA); it must be in our name on paper. FSA will then transfer it to our account. 

Contribution limits are dependent on your tax filing status:
▪ Single, Head of Household: Any Amount Up to $2500.
▪ Married, Filing Jointly: Any Amount Up to $5,000.
▪ S-Corp, LLC or Partnership: Any Amount Up to $5,000.
▪ C-Corp, Trust or Pass-through Entity: Any Amount Up to 10% of the entity’s income tax liability.

These limits are in place from January 1st through June 30th of each year. Beginning July 1st, contribution applications can be submitted in any amount provided the yearly cap has not been met. If you applied and paid already, you will submit another application.

The DOR will review your requested contribution amount. You will be approved for a lower amount if the amount you requested is higher than the maximum allowed for your tax filing status (which is limited from January 1 – June 30 of each year) or if the total yearly cap for the credit has already been met.

You can not claim your contribution as both a charitable donation on your federal return and a tax credit on your state return. You can elect to claim your contribution as a general charitable donation on your federal income tax return, but then you will also claim the contribution as a charitable donation deduction versus a tax credit on your Georgia state tax return.

We are not asking you for a donation, we are asking you to tell the government how to spend your tax dollars. Rather than your tax dollars going to the general fund, you can commit those dollars to this cause you care about. This is a redirection of a portion of your state tax liability. However, FSA, Inc. also accepts general donations.

Yes. You will receive a tax receipt that reflects your actual payment. This is the amount you will claim on your tax return.

In this example, the $200 you did not pay will be added back into the total tax credit funds available for that tax year. Any preapproved amount that is not contributed/paid, cannot be claimed or carried forward/rolled over to future year tax filings.

Yes. If your state tax withholdings through payroll plus your tax credit payment do not total your tax liability, you will owe for the difference. In this example, you will owe $1,500.

The difference of $500 will roll over/carry forward and can be applied to your future tax liability within the next five (5) years.

It depends. The amount you contribute to the tax credit gets applied to the Georgia taxes you owe for the year. If you paid more to qualified organizations than you owed, you can roll over/carry forward the overage and apply it to your future tax liability within the next five (5) years. You pay taxes on each paycheck earned based on the allowances you claim on your G-4. When you file your taxes, the total amount you have “paid in” will be applied to the total taxes you owe for the year. If you paid more than you owed, you will receive a refund.

No. The amount of the tax credit paid over your total tax liability will roll over/carry forward and can be applied to your future tax liability within the next five (5) years.

Yes.

Yes, as long as your total tax liability for the year is greater than or equal to your total state tax liability. For example, if you owe $5,000 in state taxes in a calendar year and paid $5,500 through state payroll tax withholdings, you are due a refund of $500. If you have a $2,500 FSA tax credit, your refund will be $3,000.

Yes. You can as long as the estimate is for the current year that it is given.

Yes, if you don’t pay the qualified organization (FSA, Inc.) within 60 days of the Department of Revenue’s (DOR) approval letter issue date or by the end of the calendar year you will have to apply again.

Yes. If you need to break up your applications into smaller, more affordable amounts, you can apply multiple times throughout the year. As long as the yearly cap has not been met, you will be approved to make additional payments. The tax status contribution limits are waived after June 30th each year.

Yes. The tax credit cap resets on January 1st each year and requires taxpayers to apply each year to take advantage of the tax credit.

The Georgia Form IT-QFCD-FUND1. This form is completed and sent to you by the organization you selected to receive the tax credit.  If you file electronically, you do NOT need to attach the form to your return but keep for your records.

On your Georgia state return, you will look for tax credits. Select “Business & Individual” credit. Select Code 151 in the drop down menu. Enter the amount you contributed and enter the Department of Revenue approval certificate number. The amount you paid will automatically be applied.

Tax credits are generally more advantageous than the same amount of tax deductions. Tax deductions reduce the income that is subject to tax. Tax credits reduce the actual amount of tax owed.