Help a Rural Hospital and Get a 100% State Income Tax Credit

Use your state income tax dollars to support rural hospitals.

Georgia allows you to do something no other state in America does: Tell the government to use your state income tax dollars to support rural hospitals.

Through the Georgia HEART Hospital Program, Georgia taxpayers – individual and businesses – can claim a 100 percent state income tax credit in exchange for their contribution to eligible rural hospitals.

Among those eligible hospitals are St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital in Greensboro and St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in Lavonia. Your contributions help our hospitals provide top-quality services, technology, and facilities to better meet the needs of the communities we serve.

The Georgia HEART Hospital Program – Helping Enhance Access to Rural Treatment – is the first of its kind in the United States and is vital to many of our state's rural hospitals. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, many rural hospitals in Georgia were struggling financially. Then the pandemic made those financial struggles even worse. Now more than ever, rural hospitals appreciate and often depended upon resources the community contributes in order to promote the life-saving and life-improving care that patients need.

How your dollars make a difference

These financial struggles aren’t just Boardroom issues. The financial challenges facing many rural hospitals continue to jeopardize access to medical care for large numbers of Georgians. In many communities, hospitals struggle to hire staff, attract physicians and acquire new technology. In some communities, hospitals have had to curtail services or even close their doors.

That’s where you can make a difference. As a Georgia taxpayer, you have the ability to tell the State to direct a portion of your tax dollars to Sacred Heart Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital, or any of the other rural hospitals that are part of the program.

“The benefits to rural hospitals are tremendous,” says Bria Brown, manager of support services at Good Samaritan Hospital. “We can add more services to serve patients, improve our technology and facilities, and provide access to health care services that we otherwise might not be able to afford. The community benefits, too, because access to quality healthcare is essential for health, safety and economic prosperity.”

“Georgia HEART has allowed us to add or replace equipment and expand service lines such as surgery and anesthesia,” adds Lauren Papka, director of administrative and support services at Sacred Heart Hospital. “All of these things allow patients in our area to stay in their community for care. They’re not having to drive farther away for specialty services, which is good for them, their family, and our community.”

A closer look at the benefits of contributing

By participating in the Georgia HEART Hospital Program, you can make meaningful change. For example, in recent years:

• Good Samaritan Hospital has used contributions to continue telemedicine services, which allow more patients to stay in their local hospital; expand and enhance access to specialty services such as pacemaker implantation and follow-up; ensure highest-quality care, and support equipment repair and replacement.
• Sacred Heart Hospital has also used contributions to expand telemedicine services, allowing more patients to stay in their local hospital; expand and enhance access to specialty services including cardiac care, 3D mammography and orthopedic surgery; support equipment repair and replacement, and ensure that high-quality care is provided locally.

In addition, having a strong local hospital is vital to a community’s efforts to attract and retain residents and businesses, which generates jobs, increases the local tax base, and supports common-good functions such as schools, law enforcement, transportation and recreation.

“The whole community is healthier when its local hospital is healthier,” Bria says.

How much can I contribute?

From Jan. 1 to June 30, the state limits the amount individual taxpayers can contribute. The limits are:

• Individual Filer up to $5,000
• Married Filing Jointly up to $10,000

After July 1, there are no limits until the state reaches $75 million worth of approved tax credit applications. At that point, the program closes until Jan. 1 next year. So the benefit of waiting until after July 1 is that you can get 100% credit without a limit on how much you contribute. The risk is that the state will reach its cap before you have a chance to make your contribution.

Can businesses and corporations use the tax credit?

Yes! “C” corporations, trusts and pass-through businesses are allowed a 100 percent Georgia income tax credit for contributions to rural hospital organizations – RHOs – for amounts as large as 75 percent of the corporation’s or trust’s annual state income tax liability, starting Jan. 1. Unlike individuals, business contributions are not capped in the first half of the year. On top of this, “C” corporations and trusts qualify for an additional federal business expense deduction. Not to mention, contributing to this cause will increase business and community goodwill for such companies.

How do I participate?

Simply follow these steps:

• Learn more and submit your HEART Tax Credit application at www.georgiaheart.org. Georgia HEART then submits your application to the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR).
• Georgia HEART and DOR notify you of your approved tax credit amount and payment deadline.
• You send a check made payable to your designated rural hospital to HEART for deposit to the hospital’s account within 180 days of approval, or Dec. 31, whichever comes first.
• Georgia HEART sends you Form IT-QRHOE-RHO1 (tax receipt) for claiming the credit on your recent Georgia income tax return.

We hope you will consider allocating your tax dollars to help St. Mary's rural hospitals continue to provide exceptional care for life.

Where can I get more information?

First, thank you for your interest! We suggest you talk to your tax advisor or contact:

• Sacred Heart Hospital – Lauren Papka, Director, Administrative and Support Services, LPapka@stmaryssacredheart.org
• Good Samaritan Hospital – Bria Brown, Manager, Support Services, Bria.Brown@stmarysgoodsam.org

You can also visit the Georgia HEART webpage.