Rural Hospital Organization Expense Tax Credit Timelines

2026 Timelines relating to the credit:

  1. January 2, 2026 is the beginning date when applications can be submitted for preapproval by donors for the January 1 to June 30 period.
  2. Assuming the cap is not met, June 30, 2026 is the ending date when applications can be submitted for preapproval by donors for the January 1 to June 30 period.
  3. Assuming the cap is not met on June 30, 2026, July 1, 2026 is the beginning date when applications can be submitted for preapproval by donors for the July 1 to December 31 period;
  4. Assuming the cap is not met, December 31, 2026 is the ending date when applications can be submitted for preapproval by donors for the July 1 to December 31 period; and
  5. For the contributions preapproved on or before September 30, 2026, the preapproved contributions are required to be sent to the rural hospital organization by the earlier of 180 days from the preapproval date or October 31, 2026.
  6. For the contributions preapproved after September 30, 2026, the preapproved contributions are required to be sent to the rural hospital organization by December 31, 2026;

The list and ranking order of rural hospital organizations eligible to receive contributions is available on the Georgia Department of Community Health website.

Undesignated contributions received by the Department are listed below. Information about undesignated contributions received by the Georgia HEART Hospital Program, and which rural hospital organization the contribution was attributed to, can be viewed on their website.