Rhode Island § 44-62-3 - Tax Credits for Contributions to Scholarship Organizations

§ 44-62-3. Application for tax credit program.

(a) Prior to the contribution, a business entity shall apply in writing to the division of taxation. The application shall contain such information and certification as the tax administrator deems necessary for the proper administration of this chapter. A business entity shall be approved if it meets the criteria of this chapter; the dollar amount of the applied for tax credit is no greater than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in any tax year, and the scholarship organization that is to receive the contribution has qualified under § 44-62-2.

(b) Approvals for contributions under this section shall be made available by the division of taxation on a first-come-first-serve basis. The total aggregate amount of all tax credits approved shall not exceed one million six hundred thousand dollars ($1,600,000) in a fiscal year.

(c) The division of taxation shall notify the business entity in writing within thirty (30) days of the receipt of application of the division’s approval or rejection of the application.

(d) Unless the contribution is part of a two-year plan, the actual cash contribution by the business entity to a qualified scholarship organization must be made no later than one hundred twenty (120) days following the approval of its application. If the contribution is part of a two-year plan, the first year’s contribution follows the general rule and the second year’s contribution must be made in the subsequent calendar year by the same date.

(e) The contributions must be those charitable contributions made in cash as set forth in the Internal Revenue Code.