Last week during lunch, a colleague showed me something on their phone. They mentioned that a cousin living in Oklahoma can get up to $7,500 back from the state for private school tuition, and they were wondering if that was true.

I was skeptical at first, so I looked up the information directly from the Oklahoma Tax Commission, and it turns out it is a real program.

It's called the Parental Choice Tax Credit, or PCTC for short. It passed the state legislature in 2023 and will be implemented starting in the 2024 tax year for private school tuition.

The key point is that this is a refundable credit. This means that even families with low tax liability can actually receive the credit amount.

So, who gets how much? The criteria are based on the parents' federal AGI, which stands for Adjusted Gross Income.

If the AGI is $75,000 or less, the maximum amount is $7,500 per student. For AGI between $75,001 and $150,000, it decreases to $7,000.

For AGI between $150,001 and $225,000, it is $6,500, and up to $250,000, it is $6,000. Even high-income families over $250,000 can receive at least $5,000.

This was the part that surprised my colleague the most: there is no income cap.

However, the credit is limited to the lesser of the maximum amount or the actual tuition paid. If the school charges $5,000, then even if the income is low, the credit will only be up to $5,000.

Families receiving income-based benefits like SNAP, TANF, or SoonerCare do not need to provide income verification. In this case, the maximum of $7,500 or the lesser tuition amount applies.

There are also student eligibility requirements. The student must be an Oklahoma resident and at least 4 years old as of September 1, qualifying for public school enrollment from pre-K through 12th grade.

Not just any school qualifies. It must be an accredited private school located in Oklahoma, and the school must be registered in the state tax commission's OkTAP system.

The most important factor is timing. The application window is only open once a year, from mid-March to June 15.

Applications for the 2026-27 school year started on March 16 and closed at 11:59 PM on June 15. Late applications are explicitly not accepted.

The next application period for the 2027-28 school year is scheduled to open at 9 AM on March 15, 2027. If you're interested, I recommend marking your calendar now.

The first 60 days are a priority period. Families with an AGI of $150,000 or less are first priority, followed by previous year beneficiaries, and then everyone else.

According to a report from the state tax commission on August 10, approvals for families with an AGI over $150,001 began on May 16. This means that high-income households only get their turn after the priority period ends.

It's also good to know how payments are made. According to the state tax commission, payments for the school year are made in one lump sum by August 31, and checks are sent to the school.

So, how many people actually received this benefit this year? For the 2026-27 school year, 39,629 students were approved, with a total amount exceeding $252.25 million.

Breaking it down by income is quite interesting. For AGI of $75,000 or less, there were 7,164 students, and 3,086 students were from benefit-receiving families.

However, there were also 10,634 students in the AGI over $250,000 range, which is actually more than the two lower income brackets combined.

Another notable number is that only 3,132 students who received this credit were previously attending public schools, which is less than 10% of the total.

Supporters emphasize that this expands parents' school choice. Demand is high, and the governor signed HB 3705, raising the cap to $275 million on May 13, 2026.

Opponents argue that tax dollars are flowing to wealthier families who were already attending private schools. Based on the numbers alone, there is some validity to that criticism.

In my opinion, rather than labeling the program as entirely good or bad, it would be better to refine the income brackets more closely.

Homeschool families are also included. They can receive a credit of up to $1,000 per student for expenses like curriculum, tutoring, and online course fees, and they can claim it during tax filing with receipts without a separate application.

I summarized this for my colleague, and they said they would tell their cousin, who has an AGI of $150,000 or less, to apply right on the first day in March next year.

If you live in Oklahoma or are considering moving there, remember three things: the March opening date, your household's AGI range, and whether the school is registered in OkTAP.

Since each household's income calculations and tax situations can vary, it's safe to double-check with a tax professional or school representative before applying.

Do you see this private school tax credit as a fair choice or a loophole for tax dollars?