Tuition Assistance
Help on hand for your family.
Education is one of your biggest priorities, and you want to be sure your child is getting the very best start. There are options available to help you offset the cost of care, and we’ve made it easy to learn about them.
Step Up For Students supports students and families in building a stronger future through an education that fits their needs. Their scholarships open doors with tuition, transportation, and educational resources.
- Financial assistance is given to families of all income levels.
- The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) and the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO)
- The Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA)
- Hope Scholarship
- Reading Scholarship
Voluntary Prekindergarten or VPK gives children a jump start by preparing them for school and enhancing their pre-reading, pre-math, language and social skills.
School Readiness programs have been designed to prepare children for school, particularly those from income-eligible families. These programs are intended to serve as a preventive measure for children at risk of future school failure.
Additional Resources
A tax credit is even more valuable to families than a tax deduction! It’s a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the taxes you owe. In addition, some credits are refundable—reducing taxes otherwise owed to zero and paying a refund.
NEW federal tax benefits:
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 enhanced the benefits available for families with children and child care specifically. Unfortunately, the details of the new benefits can be hard to understand, so we’re here to break it down.
Under current federal law, eligible families can claim 2021 child care tax credits up to the following maximum amounts:
- $8,000 from the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (up to $4,000 for each of your first two children). For 2021, this is a refundable credit.
- $6,728 from the federal Earned Income Tax Credit.
- $3,600 per child under six (as of December 31, 2021) and $3,000 for children 17 or younger (as of December 31, 2021) from the federal Child Tax Credit (these amounts were permanently enacted into the law).
There are rules for these federal tax credits, so please speak to your tax advisor about how they apply to your family. In the meantime, this child care tax credits calculator is a quick tool for a broad estimate.
State tax benefits:
Each state offers different tax credits to offset the cost of child care. See what benefits might be available to you in Florida.
If your family needs help with tuition, there are state and local agencies to provide tuition subsidies. This map is a great starting point for finding the financial assistance resources available.
IF YOU DON’T SEE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT MAKING SCHOOL COSTS EASIER, PLEASE GIVE US A CALL.
