A new Illinois law includes a provision for tax credit scholarships, which provide strong incentives for donors to support non-public school scholarships for low- to middle-income students in the state.

Illinois students may use these new scholarships to attend a non-public school of their choice (any Islamic School that is recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education). The Illinois Tax Credit Scholarship Program, Invest in Kids, provides a 75% Illinois state income tax credit to individuals and corporations that contribute money to a non-profit Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO), Islamic Schools are part of an SGO called Empower Illinois. The SGOs award scholarships to eligible students from low-and middle income families.

Donors will use money already owed to the state (taxes) and donate it to a needs-based scholarships instead, all while receiving a 75% state tax. This means if you donate $1,000 to an Islamic School you get $750 tax credit when you file your 2018 taxes.

WHAT WE NEED TO DO NOW

Step 1: Request a Letter ID Today! Log on to https://mytax.illinois.gov

Or http://www.revenue.state.il.us/InvestInKids/ or you can watch this 7 minutes video that explain it step by step https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2ZZ7bShMao&feature=youtu.be

It is extremely important this this step be done before the end of 2017.

We encourage all donors to begin the registration process today. It takes at least 7-10 days to obtain a Letter ID, which will then be used to activate the donor’s account.

Step 2: Reserve your tax credit on January 2nd! Log on to https://mytax.illinois.gov and give to one or more Islamic Schools

Read more about the Tax Credit Scholarship here:www.EmpowerIllinois.org.www.universalschool.org/donating-to-a-tax-credit-scholarship

This letter is prepared courtesy of Universal School. For any questions please do not hesitate to email:
taxcredit@universalschool.org

We believe this program can give the opportunity to thousands of Muslim children who wish to attend Islamic Schools but can’t.

Later in January we will share with you the process for applying to benefit from the scholarships.

Please don’t delay get your letter PIN now.

Safaa Zarzour, M.Ed., Esq.,
Superintendent, Universal School

708-599-4100 Ext. 310
szarzour@universalschool.org
www.universalschool.org
7350 W. 93rd St.,
Bridgeview, Illinois 60455