TEXAS STRONG FAMILIES FRANCHISE TAX CREDIT

To qualify for a Strong Families credit, a contribution must be:

• designated as being made for purposes of the Strong Families credit at the time of the contribution;
• made to an organization that is certified as an eligible organization by the OneStar Foundation on the date of the contribution; and
• be made on or before Dec. 31 in the year prior to the year the report on which the credit is claimed is due.

Nonprofits that provide qualifying family-strengthening services must apply for eligibility with the OneStar Foundation. Contributions to an organization made before it is certified by OneStar as an eligible organization do not qualify for the Strong Families credit. Nonprofits may apply for eligibility through the foundation’s website, and taxable entities can find a list of eligible organizations to donate to on the website as well.

An eligible organization that receives a designated Strong Families donation must complete a Certificate of Contribution. The eligible organization must provide a copy of the certificate to the donor at the time of the contribution, and another copy to the Comptroller’s office within 30 days of the date of contribution. The Certificate of Contribution must contain the following information:

• taxable entity's (taxpayer’s) name;
• eligible organization's name;
• taxable entity's federal employer identification number, if applicable;
• taxable entity's state taxpayer identification number, if applicable;
• amount of the designated contribution; and
• date the designated contribution was made.

View a sample Certificate of Contribution (PDF).

Certificates of Contribution should be emailed to the Comptroller’s office at strongfamiliescoc@cpa.texas.gov. This email address is for Certificates of Contribution only. Failure by the eligible organization to send the copy of the Certificate of Contribution to the Comptroller’s office within the 30-day timeframe will result in the donor being ineligible for a Strong Families credit for that contribution.

The Comptroller’s office is implementing a reservation system where a taxable entity must apply to reserve a credit. The credit reservation system for the first cycle of contributions will open at 9:00 am on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. A taxable entity that makes a designated contribution prior to reserving a credit allocation is not guaranteed to receive credit.

A taxable entity must apply to reserve a credit allocation through the Comptroller’s Webfile system and provide the amount of the proposed contribution in that application. A taxable entity is not required to make a designated contribution or select an eligible organization prior to applying to reserve a credit allocation.

The Comptroller’s office will review each application in order of receipt based on the time stamp of the credit reservation. Within 14 business days of receiving the application, the Comptroller’s office will notify the applicant as to whether it has successfully reserved a credit allocation, is added to the waitlist, or is ineligible. Approval of a credit allocation reservation does not authorize the credit to be claimed on a franchise tax report. See “Credit Award” for more information.

A taxable entity that receives notification from the Comptroller’s office that it successfully reserved a credit allocation must make the designated contribution:

• on or before 30 days after notification of its eligibility; and
• prior to Dec. 31 of the year of the credit reservation.

Failure to make a designated contribution to an eligible organization within this timeframe will result in loss of the reserved credit allocation.

Once $5 million in credit allocations have been reserved, subsequent applicants will be added to a waitlist. If a taxable entity is on the waitlist:

• the Comptroller’s office will notify the entity if it becomes eligible for a credit allocation; and
• the amount of credit allocation available may be less than the amount for which the entity applied.

If a taxable entity on the waitlist receives notification and wishes to claim the credit allocation, the entity must make the designated contribution:

• on or before 30 days after notification of its eligibility; and
• prior to Dec. 31 of the year of the credit reservation.

Failure to make a designated contribution to an eligible organization within this timeframe will result in loss of the reserved credit allocation.

An eligible organization must send to the Comptroller’s office a copy of the Certificate of Contribution provided to the donor within 30 days of the designated contribution. The Comptroller’s office will not award a credit unless a copy of the Certificate of Contribution is received from the eligible organization within 30 days of the designated contribution. The Comptroller’s office will notify the taxable entity of the amount of credit awarded upon receipt of the Certificate of Contribution from the eligible organization. The taxable entity may then claim the awarded credit on its following year’s franchise tax report.

A taxable entity that has successfully been awarded a credit by the Comptroller’s office may claim the awarded credit on its following year’s franchise tax report. The amount of credit a taxable entity may claim on its franchise tax report is limited to the amount of franchise tax due for the report after applying all other applicable credits. If the entity cannot claim the entire amount of credit awarded on its franchise tax report, the entity can carry the unused credit forward for not more than five consecutive reports.