Your Tax Dollars, Your Choice: Use Your 2026 Arizona School Tax Credit to Help a Child Get More Out of School

Members of CFHS Colorguard demonstrate how to handle flags during a performance to Esperero 8th graders.

Every April, Arizona taxpayers face a choice. They can send their full tax bill to the state and let the government decide how to spend it. Or they can redirect a portion of that money directly to a public school — and see the results in their own community.
Arizona law (ARS 43-1089.01) allows taxpayers to receive a tax credit of up to $200 (single filer) or $400 (joint filers) if they contribute to extracurricular fee-based programs in public schools. A tax credit is a full refund of what you owe in state taxes, dollar for dollar. It costs you nothing.
And yet, every year, dollars that could be flowing into Arizona schools go unclaimed.

How It Works
Just send a donation to the Catalina Foothills School District, earmarked for support of one of our many qualifying fee-based extracurricular activities. We will send you a receipt for your records. Then, when you fill out your 2026 Arizona state taxes, you can subtract your donation — up to $400 — from what you owe in taxes.
You do not need to itemize deductions. You do not need to have a child enrolled in the school. You simply need to be an Arizona taxpayer. And you have until April 15, 2027, to make a donation and claim it on your 2026 return.

Where Your Donation Goes
You choose. You can direct your donation to a specific school, a specific program, or to the area of greatest need. Every dollar stays at the school to which you donate.
At the elementary and middle school level — Canyon View, Manzanita, Sunrise Drive, Ventana Vista, Esperero Canyon, and Orange Grove — your tax credit can support after-school classes and extended day programs, orchestra, jazz band at Esperero Canyon, or the program with the greatest need at your school.
These are the programs where younger students discover their passions: FIRST LEGO League robotics, interscholastic competitions, music ensembles, enrichment classes, and the field trips and activities that make school unforgettable. CFSD Community Schools extends learning beyond the school day at every elementary campus with dozens of before- and after-school enrichment offerings, and your tax credit helps keep them going.
At Catalina Foothills High School, the options are as broad as the program itself. More than two-thirds of CFHS students participate in at least one sport or activity. Your donation can support any of the following:
Athletics: Baseball, Basketball (Boys/Girls), Beach Volleyball (Girls), Cheerleading, Cross Country (Boys/Girls), E-Sports, Football, Golf (Boys/Girls), Pom Line, Soccer (Boys/Girls), Softball, Swimming, Tennis (Boys/Girls), Track, Volleyball (Boys/Girls), Wrestling (Boys/Girls) — or athletics in general.
Academic Competitions: Mock Trial, Model U.N., Pioneer Robotics, Science Olympiad
Performing Arts: Band, Choir, Orchestra, Steel Drums
Career and Technical Education (CTE/JTED): DECA (Business Management), FBLA (Digital Photography, Film & TV, Graphic Design, Software Programming/Computer Science), FCCLA (Early Childhood Education), HOSA (Biotech, Sports Medicine), SkillsUSA (Engineering, Stagecraft/Theatre Tech)
Or you can simply check "program with greatest need" and let the school direct your donation where it matters most.
Watch KOLD's story on CFSD and tax credit donations.

What These Programs Produce
Consider what CFSD's extracurricular programs have produced in just the past few months: 87 musicians selected to Southeast Regional Honors Ensembles under band director Renee Shane-Boyd and orchestra director Ryan Watson. Twenty-five students advancing to the statewide Chinese Speech Contest finals at ASU. A senior who wrote an original play about kindness and performed it for elementary students as her Seal of the Arts capstone. A Pioneer Robotics team winning the Connect Award at the Arizona State Championship. The girls swim and dive team continuing a dynasty of 13 state titles. DECA students competing at the District 3 conference. Theatre students preparing to open The Drowsy Chaperone in the Falcon Theatre.
None of this happens without funding. Tax credit contributions help cover faculty stipends, equipment, supplies, transportation, competition entry fees, and the operational costs of running these programs across eight schools. They also fund fee waivers for students who need financial assistance to participate — because no student should miss out on these experiences due to cost.

The Math
Let's say you're a married couple filing jointly and you owe $2,000 in Arizona state income tax. You contribute $400 to a CFSD school. When you file your return, your tax bill drops to $1,600. The state receives $1,600. Your school receives $400. You've paid the same total amount — but you chose where $400 of it went.
The tax credit limits are $400 for married couples filing jointly, $200 for single taxpayers, and $200 each for married couples filing separately. If your credit exceeds your liability in a given year, you can carry it forward for up to five years. And this credit can be stacked with other Arizona tax credits, allowing you to redirect even more of your state tax bill to causes you care about.

How to Donate
There are three easy ways to make your tax credit donation to CFSD:
Online at www.cfsd16.org using MasterCard or Visa by April 15, 2027.
In person at any CFSD school or the district office with a check payable to Catalina Foothills School District (CFSD) by April 15, 2027.
By mail with a check payable to CFSD, postmarked by April 15, 2027, and mailed to: CFSD Tax Credit, 2101 E. River Road, Tucson, Arizona 85718.
Please note: 20% of all contributions go to general support, including equipment and supplies used by all fee-based extracurricular programs, fee waivers for students who need assistance to participate, and to programs with the greatest need. Donations cannot be designated for an individual student. Please check with your tax adviser for answers to specific tax-related questions.

The Bottom Line
The Arizona Public School Tax Credit is rare in public policy: it's a program where everyone wins. Taxpayers pay no more than they already owe. Schools receive funding they need. Students gain access to the activities and experiences that complete their education.
If you're going to pay Arizona income tax anyway — and you are — why not send some of it to a place where you can watch it make a difference?

Make an Arizona Tax Credit Donation