If you’ve encountered four or five different names for what appears to be the same federal scholarship benefit, you’re not imagining it, and you’re not missing something. Every one of these names refers to the identical program: a new federal individual income-tax credit for K-12 scholarship donations, up to $1,700 per taxpayer, beginning January 1, 2027.
Why a single program collects so many names
Federal tax provisions routinely end up with multiple names because different audiences, Congress, the IRS, tax professionals, and advocacy organizations, each refer to the same thing in the language that makes sense to them. The Earned Income Tax Credit is also called the EITC. The Child Tax Credit is the CTC.
This program is no different, and three distinct layers create its names: the name Congress gave the legislation, the section where the law now lives in the federal tax code, and the public-facing name federal agencies and advocacy organizations use.
The bill name
Congress passed this credit as the Educational Choice for Children Act, building on years of similar standalone bills introduced in earlier sessions of Congress. Advocacy organizations and policy publications frequently continue to reference the program by this name, since it carries political and legislative history.
The statute
After enactment, the credit lives in the federal tax code at Section 25F, written as §25F or IRC §25F. Tax professionals, CPAs, and technical analyses overwhelmingly use this reference when precision matters, since it points directly to the specific statutory provisions governing the credit’s cap, carryforward, and organizational requirements.
The IRS’s public name
The IRS refers to the program as the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit on its public-facing guidance and program materials. Anyone searching IRS resources or preparing to file should expect to see this term used in official instructions and forms.
Be the First to Know
Get notified when the Education Freedom Tax Credit launches so you don’t miss the opportunity to support K–12 students while benefiting from a federal tax credit.
Where “Education Freedom Tax Credit” comes from
Major school-choice organizations, including AFC, use Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC) as the program’s common branding, a name that is shorter and more accessible than the statutory or agency terms, even though it does not appear in the enacted legislation itself. Notably, in its June 2026 guidance preview, Treasury itself adopted “Education Freedom Tax Credit” in an official federal announcement for the first time, describing “the launch of the Education Freedom Tax Credit in January 2027,” alongside the IRS’s continued use of the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit name on its own program page. Expect to see both names used for some time.
Which name to use, depending on your audience
Talking with other donors or families, “the Education Freedom Tax Credit” is the clearest, most recognizable option. Searching the IRS website or preparing a federal return, look for “Federal Scholarship Tax Credit” or “FSTC” to match official guidance. Talking with a CPA or tax advisor, “Section 25F” is the precise technical reference. Reading legislative or policy analysis, look for references to the Educational Choice for Children Act or the underlying 2025 legislation.
All of these names point to the same $1,700 federal credit, the same January 1, 2027 start date, and the same underlying rules.
Yes. The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit is the IRS’s name for the same program that school-choice advocacy organizations, including AFC, brand as the Education Freedom Tax Credit. Both refer to the credit codified in the federal tax code, enacted as part of 2025 federal legislation.
It refers to the specific section of the Internal Revenue Code where this credit is codified. Tax professionals typically reference the credit by this section number when precision matters.
Yes. Every name, Education Freedom Tax Credit, Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, Educational Choice for Children Act, and Section 25F, refers to the same program, which applies to donations made on or after January 1, 2027, first claimed on 2027 returns filed in early 2028.
