How Do I Apply

Empower Illinois’ tax credit scholarship application for the upcoming school year opens in January and will remain open through much of the year. There are two parts to the application process. Please keep an eye on this page for updates on when part 1 and part 2 will be available for the next application cycle.

Part one of the application is the reservation, which reserves a family’s place in line for a scholarship. Per the Invest in Kids Act (the law that makes tax credit scholarships possible), scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, which means you want to ensure the earliest timestamp possible. The reservation form will be available at 6:30pm on reservation night, to give families time to enter their information before submission at 7pm. The reservation will have two pages. On page one, you will enter basic information, such as parent or guardian name, student name, and contact information. On page two, you will review this information and click submit. Only after clicking submit on page two will you receive your first-come, first-served timestamp. Just one reservation is needed per family.

After completing part one, you will be notified by email when part two of the application is available in your EmpowerXChange portal. You can complete this step whenever you are able to ensure accuracy, but you should submit your application as soon as possible for the best chance at receiving a scholarship.

Reservations and applications for a 2023-2024 tax credit scholarship are now closed. Due to the program’s sunset at the end of 2023, 2024-2025 tax credit scholarships will not be awarded at this time.