Arizona lets you redirect part of your state tax bill, dollar for dollar, to charities, schools, and foster-care organizations you choose instead of the state's general fund. Five separate credit categories exist, each with its own qualifying organization list, dollar cap, and form. This article breaks down every category, links you to the Arizona Department of Revenue's live 2026 lists (the only place a complete list is accurate, since it changes throughout the year), and shows how much a married couple or single filer can redirect in 2026.

Key Takeaways

• Arizona runs five separate charitable credit categories: QCO, QFCO, private school tuition (Original and Switcher), public school, and Military Family Relief Fund. You can claim more than one in the same year.
• QCO (Qualifying Charitable Organizations) 2026 max: $506 single/HoH/MFS, $1,009 married filing jointly.
• QFCO (Qualifying Foster Care Charitable Organizations) 2026 max: $632 single/HoH/MFS, $1,262 married filing jointly.
• Private school tuition credits (Form 323 + Form 348 combined) 2026 max: $1,571 single, $3,131 married filing jointly.
• Public school credit (Form 322): $200 single, $400 married filing jointly — fixed, not inflation-indexed.
• Military Family Relief Fund (Form 340): $200 single, $400 married filing jointly, capped statewide at $1 million per year, no carryforward, and currently authorized only through December 31, 2026 under state law.
• The only accurate full list lives on azdor.gov, since certified organizations are added and removed during the year.

How the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit Works

Each of these credits is nonrefundable: it can reduce your Arizona tax liability to zero, but it won't generate a refund beyond what you owe. Four of the five categories (QCO, QFCO, and both school tuition credits) carry a five-year carryforward for any unused amount. The Military Family Relief Fund credit does not carry forward at all.

A few rules apply across every category:

• Cash contributions only. Property donations don't qualify for these specific credits (though they may still qualify for a federal itemized deduction under separate rules).
• No double-dipping on the Arizona return. You cannot claim the same dollar as both an Arizona credit and an Arizona itemized deduction. You can still claim it as a federal itemized deduction if you itemize federally.
• The April 15 election window. Arizona law lets you make a donation between January 1 and April 15 and choose whether it counts toward the prior tax year (at that year's lower cap) or the current year (at the higher cap). You can't claim the same donation on both returns.
• Each organization has a 5-digit code (QCO code or QFCO code) that must appear on your credit form. The code, not just the organization's name, is what the Arizona Department of Revenue uses to verify eligibility.

QCO: Qualifying Charitable Organizations (Form 321)

The QCO credit covers cash donations to charities that serve Arizonans who receive TANF benefits, are low-income, or have a chronic illness or physical disability. It's the broadest category and covers hundreds of organizations statewide, from food banks and domestic violence shelters to disability services and children's hospitals.

2026 maximum: $506 single, head of household, or married filing separately; $1,009 married filing jointly. 2025 maximum (for prior-year elections through April 15, 2026): $495 / $987.

The official 2026 QCO list (PDF), published directly by the Arizona Department of Revenue's Office of Economic Research and Analysis, currently runs to roughly 900 certified organizations across the state. Examples pulled straight from that list include Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central and Northern Arizona, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona, Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona, Ability360, and Phoenix Children's Hospital. That's a small sample. Reprinting the full roster here would go stale within months, because organizations are added and dropped year-round. What holds up over time is knowing exactly where the current list lives and how to confirm any organization is still on it before you donate.

QFCO: Qualifying Foster Care Charitable Organizations (Form 352)

QFCO is a narrower credit, limited to organizations that provide basic needs to at least 200 qualifying individuals in Arizona's foster care system. It's claimed separately from QCO, on its own form, with its own cap.

2026 maximum: $632 single, head of household, or married filing separately; $1,262 married filing jointly. 2025 maximum: $618 / $1,234.

The official 2026 QFCO list (PDF) is maintained on the same ADOR page as the QCO list. Because QFCO organizations must meet the 200-individual threshold, the list is much shorter than QCO's. Membership still shifts year to year as organizations certify, recertify, or drop off.

Private School Tuition Organization Credits (Form 323 and Form 348)

Arizona runs two stacked individual credits for donations to certified School Tuition Organizations (STOs), which award scholarships to students at qualifying private schools.

Original credit (Form 323), 2026 maximum: $787 single, head of household, or married filing separately; $1,570 married filing joint. Switcher/PLUS credit (Form 348), 2026 maximum: $784 single, head of household, or married filing separately; $1,561 married filing joint.

You can only claim the Switcher credit after you've donated the maximum on Form 323 first. Combined, the two credits let a married couple filing jointly redirect $3,131 to private school scholarships in 2026, or $1,571 for a single filer. The Arizona Department of Revenue's STO credit page has the current-year figures and links to the certified organization list for individual donations, maintained separately from the certification requirements page.

Switcher-credit eligibility is narrower than the Original credit: eligible recipients generally include kindergartners, most newly enrolled students, former Empowerment Scholarship Account recipients, and military dependents.

Public School Tax Credit (Form 322)

This one supports Arizona public and charter schools directly, covering extracurricular activities, character education programs, and certain fees. Unlike the other four credits, it is not indexed for inflation.

Maximum, all tax years: $200 single, head of household, or married filing separately; $400 married filing jointly.

You'll need the receiving school's nine-digit CTDS (County-Type-District-Site) code to claim it. Full details, including which fees qualify, are on the ADOR public school tax credit page. This credit does carry forward for five years if unused.

Military Family Relief Fund Credit (Form 340)

This credit supports Arizona service members, veterans, and their families through the Military Family Relief Fund, administered by the Arizona Department of Veterans' Services.

Maximum: $200 single, head of household, or married filing separately; $400 married filing jointly.

Three things make this credit different from the other four:

1. No carryforward. If your Arizona tax liability is lower than your donation, the unused portion is simply lost, not carried to next year.
2. A hard statewide cap. Total donations qualifying for the credit are capped at $1,000,000 per calendar year on a first-come, first-served basis, per A.R.S. § 41-608.04. Once the cap is hit, later donations become ordinary charitable gifts, not tax credits. Donate early in the year if this one fits your plan.
3. A statutory sunset. The fund itself is currently established only through December 31, 2026 under Arizona law (the statute is formally scheduled for repeal January 1, 2027). Unless the legislature extends it again, as it has multiple times since 2007, this credit may not be available in its current form for the 2027 tax year. Confirm its status with the ADOR Form 340 page before assuming it will recur.

2026 Combined Credit Totals

A married couple filing jointly who maxes out all five categories in 2026 redirects over $6,200 of what would otherwise go to Arizona's general fund. Arizona's flat 2.5% individual income tax rate keeps most filers' total liability well within that range, so these credits can realistically zero out a state tax bill entirely for many households. For a deeper walkthrough of how the credits interact with your federal return, see our companion guide, Arizona Tax Credits in 2026.

How to Find and Verify a Qualifying Charity

Because certified organizations change throughout the year, the safest process is:

1. Go directly to azdor.gov's QCO/QFCO page or the STO certification page, not a third-party aggregator or a saved PDF from last year.
2. Download the current-year list for the category you're donating to (QCO, QFCO, or STO).
3. Match the organization's exact name and 5-digit code to what appears on the receipt the charity gives you. Codes occasionally get reused or reassigned when an organization is renamed, so the code on your receipt should match the current list, not last year's.
4. Keep the receipt. You'll need the organization's name, donation date, donation amount, and code to complete Form 321, 352, 322, or 348.
5. Re-verify before every donation, not just the first time. An organization certified in 2024 is not automatically certified in 2026.

Why This Matters for Business Owners, Real Estate Investors, and High Earners

These credits are individual credits, so business owners and real estate investors use them the same way any Arizona filer does, but a few things stand out for this audience specifically:

• Business owners have a separate, larger corporate STO program. If you operate as a C-corp or S-corp, Arizona's corporate STO tax credits allow contributions far beyond the individual caps, subject to a statewide aggregate limit and a pre-approval process. The individual and corporate programs are independent, so an S-corp owner can potentially use both.
• Real estate investors and high earners can time donations around high-income years. The April 15 election lets you assign a donation to either the current or prior tax year. A year with a large capital gain, from selling a rental property, for example, is often the right one to max out every category: the credit's dollar-for-dollar value doesn't change with your income, but the benefit of freeing up cash flow does.
• High earners frequently under-use these credits. Compared to strategies covered in why high earners often overpay their taxes, maxing out all five Arizona credit categories is a low-complexity, no-downside move: it costs nothing beyond the donation itself and directly reduces state liability.
• Charitable credits fit into broader legacy planning. If philanthropic giving is part of your long-term estate strategy, coordinate annual credit-maximization with the broader plan; see our guide on common estate planning mistakes for how charitable intent and estate documents should line up.

The Bottom Line for Arizona Filers

Arizona's charitable tax credit system is one of the most generous dollar-for-dollar programs in the country. The roster of qualifying charities just isn't something a static article can keep accurate for long. The categories, caps, and forms are stable enough to plan around: QCO, QFCO, two private school tuition credits, a public school credit, and the Military Family Relief Fund credit while it lasts. Verify every organization against ADOR's current list before you donate, and coordinate the timing with your broader tax picture, especially in a year with unusual income.

K&R's strategic tax advisory and preparation team helps Arizona business owners, investors, and high earners map out which credit categories to max out, how to time donations against income spikes, and how the individual and corporate programs interact. Schedule a consultation before you make this year's donations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What charities qualify for Arizona tax credits? Charities must be certified by the Arizona Department of Revenue as a Qualifying Charitable Organization (QCO) or Qualifying Foster Care Charitable Organization (QFCO). Certification requires 501(c)(3) status (or equivalent) and meeting service criteria specific to each category. The current lists are published as PDFs on azdor.gov.

Are charitable donations tax deductible in Arizona? Donations to certified QCOs, QFCOs, and STOs generate a dollar-for-dollar Arizona tax credit rather than a deduction, which is generally more valuable than a deduction. You cannot claim both a credit and a deduction for the same donation on your Arizona return, but the donation may still qualify as a federal itemized deduction.

How much is the Arizona charitable tax credit in 2026? It depends on the category. QCO tops out at $506 single/$1,009 married filing jointly. QFCO tops out at $632/$1,262. Combined, a married couple maximizing all five categories (QCO, QFCO, both school tuition credits, public school, and Military Family Relief Fund) can redirect over $6,200 in 2026.

Where can I find the full, current list of qualifying charities? Only the Arizona Department of Revenue's official lists are reliably current. Third-party lists and prior-year PDFs can be outdated, since organizations are added and removed throughout the year.

Can I claim more than one Arizona charitable tax credit in the same year? Yes. The five categories are independent of each other, and you can donate to and claim credits in as many categories as you'd like, up to each category's individual cap.

Does the Military Family Relief Fund credit work the same way as the others? No. It has no five-year carryforward (unused amounts are lost), it's subject to a $1 million annual statewide cap on a first-come, first-served basis, and the fund itself is currently authorized only through December 31, 2026 under Arizona law, so its future availability isn't guaranteed.