You are going to pay Missouri either way. You can decide where part of it lands.
Missouri lets you direct up to 50% of your state taxes into scholarships for children at Lutheran schools. You get a tax credit back for the full amount you send. Your total tax bill does not change. This is the part of MOScholars most people have never heard about.
Everything must reach the Missouri District by December 31 to count for this tax year.
Here for help with tuition rather than a way to give? → MOScholars for families
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.
1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)
“We know the expression — paying taxes is one of two certainties. So how wonderful and convenient that something we’re required to do anyway can now be easily transformed into a tool for work in God’s kingdom.”
Leah Sieveking, Director of Mission Advancement, LCMS Missouri District — speaking at Immanuel on Sunday, November 15
A credit, not a deduction
MOScholars does not ask you for extra money. It asks where your Missouri tax dollars land. The $1,000 below is just a round number for the example. It is not a required amount. It is not a maximum. You decide what to direct, within the limits below.
Paid the usual way — say $1,000 of your Missouri tax bill. It goes to state general revenue.
Directed through MOScholars — that same $1,000 becomes a scholarship for a student at a Lutheran school.
Your total Missouri tax bill is the same either way. A deduction reduces the income you are taxed on. A credit reduces your tax bill dollar for dollar.
The limits, in detail — and who is eligible to participate
- The credit equals 100% of your contribution.
- It may not exceed 50% of your Missouri tax liability in the year you first claim it.
- Anything unused carries forward four more tax years.
- The credit is not sellable, transferable, or refundable.
Individuals who pay Missouri income tax can participate. So can firms, partners, corporations, and S-corporation shareholders doing business in Missouri. You must file a Missouri return, and you cannot be claimed as someone else’s dependent.
One thing to know about your federal return. MOScholars gives you back 100% of your gift as a Missouri credit. So the same money is not also deductible on your federal return. You cannot claim it twice. That is not a catch. It is the reason the state credit is worth so much. Your own return may still work out differently, so ask whoever prepares your taxes.
Grandparents
If you have a grandchild at Martin Luther School, this is probably the most useful thing on our website that nobody has told you about.
First, the honest part. You cannot earmark your gift for your own grandchild. Missouri law puts every contribution into one statewide pool, and the District awards scholarships out of that pool. We would rather tell you that plainly than let you find out later.
Here is what you can do. You can fund children like your grandchild, at your grandchild’s school, with money you were going to send to Jefferson City anyway. And you can do it again every year.
There is a second effect worth knowing. Every family that receives a MOScholars award is a family that does not need to draw on our own aid budget. That money then goes to a family who does not qualify for MOScholars but still needs help. Your gift reaches further than the one child it pays for.
Many of our grandparents are retired and still pay Missouri income tax. If that is you, this costs you nothing beyond the paperwork.
Business owners
The credit is not only for individuals. Firms, partnerships, corporations, and S-corporation shareholders doing business in Missouri can all direct tax dollars the same way.
If you own a business in Joplin and you owe Missouri tax, this is available to you. Almost nobody has been told.
Three steps, about fifteen minutes
Reserve before you give. That order matters.
1 · RESERVE
Reserve your tax credit with the Missouri State Treasurer. When asked to choose an Educational Assistance Organization, select The Missouri District, LCMS.
2 · SEND
Send your reservation number together with your payment to the Missouri District, by check or electronically, within 30 days.
3 · CLAIM
The District sends your documentation. Claim the credit on Missouri Form MO-TC when you file your state return.
Reserve at the State Treasurer’s MOScholars Tax Credit Reservation System. Then send your reservation number and payment to the Missouri District at 660 Mason Ridge Center Drive, Suite 100, St. Louis, MO 63141. You can also pay electronically through the District’s tax credit page.
Three numbers to keep in mind
- $500 — the minimum contribution.
- 30 days — your payment must reach the Missouri District within 30 days of your reservation. Miss that window and the reservation expires. You would start over.
- December 31 — everything must be received by year end to be claimed for that tax year.
The practical effect of the first two together: do not reserve until you are ready to pay. The clock starts at the reservation, not at the decision.
Not sure where to start? We sit down with you in the school office and walk through it. Call (417) 624-1403. You can also reach Leah Sieveking at the Missouri District directly: 314-590-6211 or leah.sieveking@mo.lcms.org.
Please do not send MOScholars payments through the church offering or the school’s general giving. The District has to match your reservation to your payment. A gift that arrives any other way cannot be credited to you.
The Missouri District also recorded a short webinar for donors: How Your State Tax Dollars Can Send a Child to a Lutheran School. And if directing your taxes is not the right fit this year, there are other ways to support our school.
What your tax dollars actually buy
A child in a classroom of fifteen, known by name. Chapel on Wednesday morning. A teacher who prays with them. The five things we say we are about, worked out in a hundred small moments a day: compassionate leaders, Christ-centered servants, innovative thinkers, resilient learners, God’s unique creations.
Since 2022 the Missouri District has awarded more than $13 million in scholarships to over 2,000 students at 60 Lutheran schools. Martin Luther School is one of them. Already, more than one in five of our students receive MOScholars, and that number grows every week. Money that would have gone to Jefferson City can go here instead. The child it reaches may be one who could not otherwise have come.
Looking for help with tuition rather than a way to give? See MOScholars for families.
Come Learn It in Person — Sunday, November 15
12:00 noon · Martin Luther School gym · 2616 S Connecticut Ave, Joplin
Leah Sieveking of the LCMS Missouri District is coming to walk through MOScholars. She speaks at Immanuel’s Faith in Action Celebration, the stewardship luncheon and potluck after the late service. Come eat. Bring your questions. Nobody expects you to have this figured out beforehand.
MOScholars is administered by the Missouri State Treasurer’s Office. Program rules, credit limits and deadlines are set by the State of Missouri and change from year to year. The details here are a starting point, not tax advice. Please consult your tax advisor about your own situation. Martin Luther School is affiliated with the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and its Educational Assistance Organization is the LCMS Missouri District.