*Please note: although the priority window has closed on this application, applications will still be accepted throughout the year.
If you would like to be informed on general tax credit updates and when the BK Sign Up Fair Registration opens,
please click the button below and fill out the short form:
Now that the priority window for the Parental Choice Tax Credit Application has closed, the Program has released some helpful information:
Have additional questions? Please reach out to help@parentalchoice.ok.gov or call (918) 554-5440 for further assistance.
January 26, 2024
This week, parents or guardians who have been informed about receiving a tax credit award due to a successful application are starting to get a follow-up email from Merit. This email includes instructions on how to create an account with Merit to accept the tax credit award and monitor when the checks are issued. If you're setting up your account for the first time and logging in, you might need to select 'reset my password' to create your initial login credentials.
January 15, 2024
Bishop Kelley received information this week that
Merit has not yet sent out emails containing digital account credentials to allow parents/guardians to create a personalized login. This will soon serve as a way
to track the award amount and disbursement process for the tax credit(s) they received.
Although no precise date was given, Merit indicated an intention to send out this information in the near future. With the completion target date being moved to Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, for application with a federal AGI of $150,000 or less for the 2022 tax year, Merit expressed that they are working diligently to get the credentials set up, processed and emails disbursed.
January 5, 2024
From the OTC/Merit to Parents/Guardians:
From Bishop Kelley to Parents/Guardians:
December 20, 2023
Bishop Kelley High School is on Christmas Break from
Wednesday, December 20, 2023 - Wednesday, January 3, 2024.
During the Break:
December 7, 2023
The Tax Credit application successfully opened yesterday, December 6. For most families, the most efficient way to receive the tax credit is to apply directly online with the OTC at https://www.parentalchoice.ok.gov/.
For families who may need more assistance with tax documentation or language translation, BK will host a Tax Credit Sign-Up Fair at the BK Dining Hall this weekend:
The BK Tax Credit Sign-Up Fair was opened to other Tulsa-Area Catholic Schools and three schools have chosen to participate. Families enrolled at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic School, Monte Cassino School, and Cascia Hall Preparatory School are also eligible to participate.
Please contact
questions@bishopkelley.org with any questions about the Tax Credit application process or the Sign-Up Fair.
En la mayoría de los casos, la forma más eficiente de recibir el crédito es que una familia lo solicite directamente en línea con la OTC en https://www.parentalchoice.ok.gov/.
Para las familias que puedan necesitar más ayuda con la documentación tributaria o la traducción de idiomas, BK organizará una feria de inscripción de crédito fiscal en el comedor de BK este fin de semana:
La Feria de inscripción de crédito fiscal de BK se abrió a otras escuelas católicas del área de Tulsa y tres escuelas decidieron participar. Las familias matriculadas en La escuela católica Ss. Peter and Paul, la escuela Monte Cassino y la escuela preparatoria Cascia Hall también son elegibles para participar.
Comuníquese con questions@bishopkelley.org si tiene alguna pregunta sobre el crédito fiscal o la feria de inscripción.
December 6, 2023
Update from BK:
Resources:
Tax Credit Sign-Up Fair:
Thank you for your continued patience, understanding and prayers for the OTC, school leaders, and BK. We rely on the help of your prayers!
December 1, 2023
Update from the OTC:
Update from BK:
Resources available to you:
Thank you for your continued patience, understanding and prayers for the OTC, school leaders, and BK. We rely on the help of your prayers!
December 1, 2023
The OTC has posted a DELAY in implementing the Parental Choice Tax Credit. The application window will now begin at 2:00 p.m. on WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6. The portal WILL NOT OPEN on FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, as advertised. The 60-day priority window will now extend from Wednesday, December 6, 2023 - Monday, February 5, 2024. More information is available on the OTC website.
November 30, 2023
As of yesterday, Nov. 29, 2023, BK successfully uploaded all family data to the OTC portal.
However, we are currently receiving multiple calls and emails that BK parents/guardians have not yet received their EVF from the OTC. Additionally, some who have received their EVF have incorrect data listed, such as an incorrect birthdate for the student.
Action Taken:
Next Steps:
Confirmation and Communication:
Timeline:
Resources available to you:
We appreciate your understanding for variables beyond our control. Please join us in praying for a successful process and peace of heart for all involved as we navigate the eventual problems.
November 29, 2023
Join us for a webinar organized by the Office of Catholic Schools and the Oklahoma Council for Public Affairs to explore the benefits of the Parental Choice Tax Credit and learn how you can actively participate.
Details:
Date: Wednesday, November 29th
Time: 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. CT
Platform: Zoom Webinar
Webinar Link: Click here to join
For those interested in joining by phone, please use the following number: +16699006833,,86180395838#
Registration Link:
Click here
to register and receive event reminder emails.
November 29, 2023
Now is the time to submit a Enrollment Verification Form Request through our website. Once completed, Bishop Kelley will submit your child(ren)’s enrollment information to the Oklahoma Tax Commission. We will provide an email acknowledgement of your request and a detailed list of next steps within 24 - 48 hours of your submission.
The Enrollment Verification Form will be sent from the email address no-reply@merits.com. We recommend you approve (or “whitelist”) this address in your email account to ensure it does not go to junk mail or a spam folder.
As part of the OTC enrollment verification process, Bishop Kelley is required to itemize the qualifying eligible expenses related to both the Spring and Fall 2024 semesters.
What are the next steps in the process?
How It Works: You will receive an email directly from the OTC with the Enrollment Verification Form (EVF). This form is not generated for the taxpayer by the school. You must upload a copy of the EVF for each child at the time of your application for the tax credit. Taxpayers must apply for the tax credit directly on the OTC website https://www.parentalchoice.ok.gov/ beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, December 1, 2023.
The tax credit is given on a first-come, first-served basis, with a priority window for families with a 2022 Annual Gross Income (AGI) of $150,000 or less from December1, 2023 (8:30 a.m.) - February 1, 2024.
The Resource Center of the OTC website provides helpful information to taxpayers about how to apply for the tax credit in English and Spanish.
Self-service application through the OTC website is the most efficient way to apply for the credit. For any families who wish to receive assistance in completing their application or who do not file taxes and will need a notarized Form 591-C to be eligible for the credit, Bishop Kelley will host a
Tax Credit Sign-up Fair on
December 8th & 9th. Registration for an appointment time at the BK Sign-up Fair will be available on our website on Monday, December 4th.
How will you know if you have received the credit? (See English Handbook & Spanish Handbook, p. 6-7)
After you have successfully completed your application and the OTC has validated your information:
How will you collect the tax credit? (English Handbook & Spanish Handbook, p. 13)
Where can you find more information?
November 14, 2023
Bishop Kelley asks all families who wish to participate in the tax credit at BK to Opt-in by completing a Google Form (in English or Spanish) available on our landing page website. It is important to BK that we receive specific permission from parent(s)/guardian(s) to share their information with the State of Oklahoma.
How it Works: You will receive an email directly from the OTC with the Enrollment Verification Form (EVF). Although "Step 2" in the "How it Works" process indicates the school will email the taxpayer - it has been clarified that the school generates the EVF information to the OTC, and the OTC portal (run by the company Merit) will generate the EVF to the taxpayer. You must upload a copy of the EVF for each child at the time of your application for the tax credit. Taxpayers must apply for the tax credit directly on the OTC website www.parentalchoice.ok.gov beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, December 1, 2023. The tax credit is given on a first-come, first-served basis, with a priority window for families with a 2022 Annual Gross Income (AGI) of $150,000 or less from Dec.1, 2023 (8:30 a.m.) - February 1, 2024.
Taxpayer Requirements for application
(See handbook, p. 4 & Rules, p. 3-4):
The Resource Center of the OTC website provides helpful information to taxpayers about how to apply for the tax credit in English and Spanish.
Self-service application through the OTC website is the most efficient way to apply for the credit. For any families who wish to receive assistance in completing their application or who do not file taxes and will need a notarized Form 591-C to be eligible for the credit, Bishop Kelley will host a Tax Credit Sign-up Fair on December 8th & 9th. Details on this sign-up fair will be forthcoming.
Please see the OTC website FAQ section for answers to specific questions.
November 7, 2023
Bishop Kelley has successfully completed and submitted the required School Participation Form, which is the first step in this process. Our school's form is now being reviewed and validated. Our primary and secondary contacts will be granted access to the Enrollment Verification Form generator tool upon validation.
No action is required of our families at this time. Please know we remain committed to providing proactive communication and creating a streamlined process, making it easy for our parents to take advantage of the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit. This first step brings us closer to that goal. We will keep you updated as we move forward in this program.
Next Steps:
For families who would like additional help walking through the sign-up process, please
Bishop Kelley is still in the planning stages of this event, so details are subject to change.
However, we anticipate the fair will look something like this:
Who can come to the BK Sign Up Fair?
What to expect at the BK Sign Up Fair:
If you would like to be informed when the BK Sign Up Fair Registration opens,
please click the button below and fill out the short form:
To view the full OTC Rules document, please click the button below.
Highlighted within the document are a few key takeaways:
Not clarified in the OTC Rules Document:
Next Steps:
Dear Bishop Kelley Community,
Beginning in January 2024 will be an exciting opportunity for families to take advantage of the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit that will allow parents & guardians to redirect tax dollars to tuition at Bishop Kelley High School. Also known as House Bill 1934, this private school tax credit was signed into law on May 25, 2023, by Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and will be effective beginning with the tax year 2024. The Oklahoma Tax Commission is working to finalize details and we hope to have more information for you at the end of October.
Tax Credit details: Currently, households earning $150,000 or less will have preference on a first come, first served basis to access Oklahoma's designated, capped amount of $150M for tax year 2024 that has been allocated to fund the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit. The credit amount for which each child is eligible is determined by the total federal Adjusted Gross Income of the student's household during the second preceding tax year (i.e., a tax credit received in 2024 is based on family AGI in the tax year 2022), ranging from a credit of $5,000 - $7,500. To apply, there will be a multi-step process involving the family, the school, and the OTC which will include an online application. The OTC currently states that the window to apply for the tax credit is December 8, 2023 - January 22, 2024. More details can be found directly on the Oklahoma Tax Commission Parental Choice Tax Credit Website.
Bishop Kelley’s response: Bishop Kelley High School has created this landing page to keep you updated on important information regarding the tax credit as well as how it relates specifically to our school. Our hope is to help as many families as possible benefit from this opportunity which makes a Catholic education more accessible for those who wish to obtain one. Toward this end, Bishop Kelley is working with the Diocese and other Catholic school leaders in the Tulsa area in an attempt to develop a tax credit operations plan that will facilitate families having a consistent experience in applying for the credit. For example, if a family has a child at BK and another child in a different Catholic school in Tulsa, Diocesan or Private, our hope is that we can design a registration pathway that will allow the family a unified process to apply for all their children.
Save the Date – Sign-up Fair! Although we await more information from the OTC before we can finalize a plan, I urge you to "Save the Date" for a Tax-Credit Signup Fair at Bishop Kelley to be held on Friday, December 8, 2023, and Saturday, December 9, 2023, to assist families in signing up for the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit. The school is still in the planning stages of the event; detailed information will be shared in the second-half of November. More information on the BK Signup Fair can be found at the bottom of this page .
Please refer back to this page to check for updates. Should you have any questions, please email questions@bishopkelley.org and one of Bishop Kelley's Administrators will be in touch to assist you.
If you'd like to receive an email when we have new information available, click the "Send Me Updates!" button below and fill out the short form to receive additional information as we have it.
In closing, may I ask your prayers for the OTC, school leaders, and BK in particular that the organization and planning needed to transform this tax credit concept into a manageable operational reality may be guided by the Holy Spirit? As you can imagine, the practical details are quite complex. We rely on the help of your prayers!
Yours in Christ,
Sister Mary Hanah Doak, RSM
President, Bishop Kelley High School
SUMMARY: The proposed emergency rule implements the provisions of HB 1934 [2023] which created the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Act [70 O.S. § 28-100 et seq.] effective for tax year 2024, and subsequent tax years. The proposed rule sets forth definitions and procedures for claiming both the homeschool tax credit and the private school tax credit. In 2024, the Tax Commission will begin disbursing payments for the private school tax credit. As a result, emergency rulemaking is necessary to promulgate a rule to provide clear guidance to taxpayers and eligible private schools on the procedures for claiming the income tax credits.
COMMENT PERIOD: Written comments will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. on October 12, 2023, at the Oklahoma Tax Commission, Oklahoma City, OK 73194, Attn: Lisa Haws, or by email to parentalchoice@tax.ok.gov.
Visit the Oklahoma Tax Commission Parental Choice Tax Credit Website
PARENTAL CHOICE TAX CREDIT - PRIVATE SCHOOL FAQs
Beginning in tax year 2024, a refundable income tax credit is allowed for certain Oklahoma taxpayers who pay, or expect to pay, tuition and fees to an eligible private school on behalf of an eligible student. An eligible taxpayer is someone who is subject to the tax laws of the state of Oklahoma, and who is a biological or adoptive parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, legal guardian, custodian, or other person with legal authority to act on behalf of the eligible student.
To claim the private school tax credit, you will apply online. You will need to upload with the application a completed Affidavit of Enrollment and a copy of the Oklahoma income tax return or the federal income tax return for the second preceding tax year of the household of which the student is a member. If the household had no tax filing requirement, taxpayer shall submit the Affidavit for No Filing Requirement (OTC Form 591-C) and an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Verification of Nonfiling Letter, which provides proof from the IRS that there is no record of a filed tax form for the year requested.
An Oklahoma taxpayer is any person who is liable to pay any Oklahoma tax, or required to file a report, a return, or remit any tax required by the provisions of any Oklahoma tax law or required to obtain a license or a permit or to keep any records under the provisions of any Oklahoma tax law.
A student who is a resident of Oklahoma and is eligible to enroll in an Oklahoma public school. Additionally, the student must be enrolled in and attending an eligible private school in Oklahoma.
At the current time, a private school is considered eligible only if it is accredited by the State Board of Education or another accrediting association, which includes the Oklahoma Private School Accrediting Commission (OPSAC) and any OPSAC-recognized accrediting associations. In addition, a private accrediting association may be approved by the State Board of Education and have the authority to accredit schools within their association. The Oklahoma Tax Commission does not make determinations as to whether a private school has met accreditation standards of either the State Board of Education or other accrediting associations.
Bishop Kelley IS an eligible accredited private school.
"Qualified expense" means tuition and fees at a private school accredited by the State Board of Education or another accrediting association, which includes the Oklahoma Private School Accrediting Commission (OPSAC) and any OPSAC-recognized accrediting associations. Fees include enrollment, registration, or application fees; textbook fees; technology fees; activity fees; testing and assessment fees; and fees paid for school uniforms, if paid directly to the school.
Only one application is required for each tax year. For tax year 2024, the application process opens on December 8, 2023. Each year thereafter, you can apply for the credit beginning on the first day of December preceding the applicable tax year. For example, the application process opens on December 1, 2024, for tax year 2025. The deadline to apply is on or before December 31 of the tax year you incur private school tuition and fees, or until the cap has been met, whichever occurs first.
For tax year 2024, the application period for students with household income of less than $150,000, will be December 8, 2023, through January 22, 2024. For tax year 2025 and subsequent tax years, the application period for students with household income of less than $150,000, will be December 1st (preceding the applicable tax year) through January 15th. Applications will be processed on a first-come- first-serve basis. Please note that submitting an application during this period does not guarantee eligibility for the credit. Only properly submitted applications approved by the OTC will be eligible for the credit until the cap is met.
You must provide a copy of the Oklahoma income tax return or the federal income tax return for the second preceding tax year of the household where the student resides.
If the student is living with you now but did not live with you in 2022, you still must provide a copy of your 2022 income tax return. The amount of your 2022 federal adjusted gross income (AGI) determines the amount of credit for which your student may be eligible.
The maximum amount of the credit is determined by the total federal AGI of the student's household during the second preceding tax year.
FEDERAL MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF
AGI CREDIT PER YEAR $0 - $75,000 $7,500
$75,001 - $150,000 $7,000
$150,001 - 225,000 $6,500
$225,001 - $250,000 $6,000
$250,001 and up $5,000
If you have an income tax filing status of "married, filing separately", the federal AGI reported on each tax return for the second preceding tax year will be added together to determine the student’s household federal AGI.
The credit amount will be based on the anticipated private school tuition and fees you expect to pay for the tax year, as indicated in the private school’s Affidavit of Enrollment. Each payment will not exceed half of the allowable credit for the applicable tax year.
In the case of having multiple eligible students, the taxpayer may receive the tax credit for each eligible student. For example, if the federal AGI of the household where the students reside is less than $75,000, the taxpayer may qualify for up to $7,500 per year per eligible student. It is important to note, however, that a separate application must be completed and submitted for each eligible student for each tax year.
No, the amount of your credit will be limited to half the amount of your 2024 allowable credit, not to exceed the amount of tuition and fees for the one semester.
The credit can be claimed only for the tax year in which the qualified expenses are actually incurred. Where qualified expenses are incurred in excess of the allowable credit for any given tax year, the excess of qualified expenses cannot be used in claiming the credit for any other tax year.
Before issuing the credit payment, the Tax Commission will deduct from the amount of the credit any outstanding state tax, penalty, and interest thereon, which the taxpayer owes pursuant to any state tax law. Additionally, if the Tax Commission has received notice from another state or county entity that the taxpayer has an outstanding debt, the Tax Commission will deduct from the tax credit payment the amount owed to that entity, plus any collection expenses and costs.
If your federal AGI includes any private school tax credit payments, the amount included in federal AGI will also be included in your Oklahoma taxable income. Please contact your own tax professional if you need more information.
Form 1099-G is for certain types of government payments, such as unemployment compensation, state or local income tax refunds, credits or offsets. The OTC will issue Form 1099-G to taxpayers who receive a Parental Choice Tax Credit payment.
We are working to gather all information and hope to be able to provide an update in November. Please check back soon!
We are working to gather all information and hope to be able to provide an update in November. Please check back soon!
We are working to gather all information and hope to be able to provide an update in November. Please check back soon!
Yes! Tentatively we are planning to host a Sign Up Fair on campus to assit families in signing up on Friday, December 8 from 3:00 PM - 8:00 PM and Saturday, Decemer 9 from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Please scroll to the bottom of this page for more event details and to sign up for a notification when registration opens.
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The mission of Bishop Kelley High School is to carry on the teaching ministry of Jesus Christ by providing a Catholic, Lasallian education that develops individuals whose hearts and minds are prepared for a purposeful life.