Would your children qualify for an SGO scholarship?
Scholarship granting organizations (SGOs) award the new federal tax-credit scholarships, and every one of them uses the same income test: three times the median income where you live, not a national number. Hover any county to see the ceiling there, or enter your household and get an answer.
3,229 counties and 1,603 New England towns · HUD FY2026 figures
Income limits are derived from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s published area median family incomes for fiscal year 2026, using HUD’s own household-size adjustment and rounding. This is a pre-screen, not a determination: an actual application verifies income and the award decision belongs to the scholarship organization. The data is free to download and cite.
How the limit is calculated
Three steps, all of them federal rules rather than anything a scholarship organization chooses.
Start with your area
HUD publishes a median family income for every county in the country — and, in the six New England states, for every town. Your address decides which one applies. This is the step most people skip, and it is where nearly all the variation lives.
Adjust for household size
The published median is a four-person figure. HUD scales it to 70%, 80%, 90% and 100% for households of one through four, adding eight percentage points per person after that, and rounds up to the next $50. A larger household gets a higher ceiling.
Multiply by three
A student is income-eligible when household income is at or below 300% of that adjusted figure. Households well above their local median still qualify in most of the country — the test is far wider than families tend to assume.
What the ceiling looks like around the country
The same federal rule, in twelve places people recognise. Nationally the range for a household of four runs from $78,900 in Arroyo Municipio, PR to $616,500 in Santa Clara County, CA.
| County | Household of 1 | Household of 4 | Household of 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | $227,100 | $324,300 | $376,200 |
| Cook County, IL | $255,150 | $364,500 | $422,850 |
| Harris County, TX | $218,400 | $312,000 | $361,950 |
| Maricopa County, AZ | $236,100 | $337,200 | $391,200 |
| Miami-Dade County, FL | $188,700 | $269,400 | $312,600 |
| Kings County, NY | $219,150 | $312,900 | $363,000 |
| Santa Clara County, CA | $431,550 | $616,500 | $715,200 |
| Wayne County, MI | $220,200 | $314,400 | $364,800 |
| Fulton County, GA | $247,500 | $353,400 | $409,950 |
| King County, WA | $345,300 | $493,200 | $572,250 |
| Travis County, TX | $282,300 | $403,200 | $467,850 |
| Marion County, IN | $231,750 | $330,900 | $383,850 |
Eligible isn’t the same as awarded
Being under the limit means an SGO will consider your application. It does not reserve money for your child: awards come from a limited pool, a committee decides them against a written policy, and many organizations run out of funds before they run out of eligible families. Applying early matters more than sitting exactly at the limit.
The Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC), the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC), the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), and Section 25F are four names for the same federal program — a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $1,700 per year for donations to scholarship granting organizations, effective January 1, 2027.
Your state has to opt in
An SGO can only be listed where the state has elected to participate.
Check your stateMoney starts flowing in 2027
Donations earn the credit from January 1, 2027. Some SGOs open applications before then.
What the credit isYou apply to an SGO, not to the government
Each one runs its own application, award criteria, and list of schools.
Find one near youThe application asks more than income
Household size, your child's school, and income verification — no Social Security number.
What to expectCommon questions
What is the income limit for a federal tax-credit scholarship?
There is no single national number. A student qualifies if household income is at or below 300% of the area median gross income where the family lives, adjusted for household size. Because it is measured locally, the ceiling for a family of four runs from roughly $79,000 in the lowest-income county in the country to more than $600,000 in the most expensive metro. The map on this page gives the figure for any county.
How is household size counted?
Everyone in the household, adults included — two parents and three children is a household of five, not three. HUD publishes each area's median on a four-person basis and scales it: 70%, 80%, 90% and 100% for households of one through four, then eight more percentage points per additional person. A bigger household therefore gets a higher ceiling.
Is the limit based on gross income or take-home pay?
Gross — annual household income before taxes and deductions. Use the figure closest to what your tax return reports, not what lands in your bank account.
My county is not the same as my town. Which one is used?
For 44 states the limit is published county-wide, so the county is the answer. In Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, limits are set town by town, and neighbouring towns can differ by tens of thousands of dollars. Select your county on this page and it will list every town in it, or use the address check for an exact match.
Does being under the limit mean my child gets a scholarship?
No. Income eligibility is the threshold to apply, not a decision. Scholarship granting organizations award from a limited pool, and an award is made by the organization's scholarship committee on its own written criteria — need, timing, and the number of applications all matter. Being under the limit means your application will be considered.
What if my income is right at the limit?
Apply. The figure you enter here is your own estimate; the real application verifies income through payroll records, and the verified figure is what counts. Families within a few percent of the ceiling in either direction are exactly the ones who should let the verification decide rather than ruling themselves out.
Do I need a Social Security number to apply?
No. Applications are identified by a unique donor or applicant number, and income is confirmed through payroll verification rather than by collecting Social Security numbers.
When does this take effect?
The federal credit funds scholarships starting January 1, 2027, and only in states that have opted in. Check your state's status on the state opt-in tracker — the income limit is federal and applies everywhere, but whether a scholarship organization can operate in your state is a separate question.
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