HB4237 Summary

• Establishes the Illinois Education Excellence Fund as a special fund in the State treasury to accept charitable contributions for public education purposes, including early childhood education, elementary and secondary education, higher education, adult education, and teachers' employment benefits.

• Creates a state income tax credit for individual taxpayers who contribute to the Illinois Education Excellence Fund for taxable years ending after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, allowing a credit equal to 100% of contributions made.

• Permits partners, S-corporation shareholders, and LLC members to claim the credit based on their distributive share of income under federal tax code provisions.

• Allows excess tax credits to be carried forward and applied to tax liability for up to 5 following taxable years, with earlier credits applied first.

• Authorizes counties with populations of 100,000 or less to establish similar county funds accepting charitable contributions for public purposes during taxable years 2018 through 2025, with taxpayers eligible for property tax credits equal to their contributions.