NC Opportunity Scholarship Increase: Tiers, Amounts, and Applying

For the 2026–2027 school year, the North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship pays between $3,574 and $7,942 per student, with the exact amount tied to household income. Every family in the state can now apply regardless of income or whether the child previously attended public school, though awards are not guaranteed and higher-income tiers may receive fewer offers in high-demand years.

Award Amounts by Tier for 2026–2027

The scholarship uses four income tiers. Families with the lowest incomes receive the largest awards, and every tier that gets funded receives something. The maximum amounts for 2026–2027 are:¹

Tier 1: up to $7,942 per year ($3,971 per semester)
Tier 2: up to $7,148 per year ($3,574 per semester)
Tier 3: up to $4,766 per year ($2,383 per semester)
Tier 4: up to $3,574 per year ($1,787 per semester)

The money can only be used for tuition and required fees at a registered private school. If the school’s tuition is higher than the award, you pay the difference.² Most families should expect a gap, since private school tuition typically runs above even the Tier 1 maximum.

Tier 4 is the default placement for families whose income exceeds the Tier 3 cap and for families who choose not to report income at all. Reporting income is optional, but skipping it drops you to the smallest award automatically.

Which Tier You Fall Into

Tier placement depends on total household income and household size. It is not based on your adjusted gross income from a tax return, and the NCSEAA states this directly.³ You report total household income from January through December 2025, calculated the way federal free and reduced-price lunch programs calculate it.

For a family of four, the ceilings are:¹

Tier 1: household income up to $61,050
Tier 2: household income up to $122,100
Tier 3: household income up to $274,725
Tier 4: income above $274,725, or income not reported

The thresholds shift with household size. A two-person household qualifies for Tier 1 only up to $40,034 and Tier 3 up to $180,153, while an eight-person household can earn up to $103,082 and still land in Tier 1. The full table is on the NCSEAA site, and it is worth checking carefully. A small change in reported income or in who counts as part of your household can move you between tiers.

Household size counts every person living in the home. A child away at college still counts. A deployed service member still counts. For divorced or separated parents, the child belongs to the household where they live for the majority of the year.

Automatic Tier 1 for Foster Children

A child formally placed in foster care by a court order or by the North Carolina Division of Social Services automatically receives the Tier 1 award, without regard to the foster family’s income. Informal arrangements and permanent guardianship placements that were not state-ordered do not qualify for this automatic placement.³

Military Family Adjustments

Military families get specific exclusions when calculating household income. Combat pay, Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance payments, and privatized housing allowances do not count. A deployed service member still counts toward household size, which can keep the family in a higher-benefit tier.

How to Apply

Applications go through the NCSEAA’s MyPortal system at myportal.ncseaa.edu. You create a parent account, add each student, enter household financial information, select a school, and upload any documents the portal requests.⁴

For the 2026–2027 school year, the priority application window ran from February 2, 2026 to March 2, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Applications submitted in this window were entered into a random lottery. Incomplete applications were not included, so finishing everything before the deadline matters more than submitting early.⁵ After the priority period closes, the application stays open and late submissions are reviewed monthly in the order received, as long as money remains.²

Awards are issued in a specific order. Renewal students come first. The NCSEAA funds returning scholarship holders before any new applicants are considered. After that, new applicants from the priority-period lottery are awarded by tier, starting with Tier 1 and working up through Tier 4 until the money runs out.⁶

Picking a School That Accepts the Scholarship

The student has to attend a Direct Payment School, which is a registered private school that has agreed to receive scholarship funds directly from the state. The NCSEAA keeps a searchable list of participating schools on its site.⁷ Confirm your intended school appears there before applying. If it doesn’t, the school would have to register with the state before it could accept payment on your child’s behalf.

Documents and Information to Gather

You will need total household income for calendar year 2025, calculated using the federal free and reduced-price lunch method rather than your tax return’s AGI line.³ The NCSEAA’s income calculation guide spells out which sources count and which are excluded.

Families who do not file federal tax returns follow a different documentation path. After submitting an initial income verification worksheet, the NCSEAA sends either a Non-Filer form or a Basic Necessities form to your MyPortal to-do list, depending on your situation.⁸

Not every family is asked to prove residency, but if the NCSEAA requests it after offering an award, acceptable documents include a North Carolina driver’s license or state ID, a utility bill, a bank statement, a government check, or a paycheck showing the parent’s name and a North Carolina address.⁹ Families moving into the state must meet the residency requirement by October 1 for fall enrollment or March 1 for spring.

Renewing an Existing Scholarship

Current recipients don’t keep the scholarship automatically. Parents complete a renewal through MyPortal each year, which includes updating income information. If you decline to disclose income at renewal, your student lands in Tier 4 and receives the lowest award.¹⁰ Because renewal students are funded before any new applicants, missing the renewal window is costly. A family that fails to renew loses priority status and has to reapply as a new applicant, taking their chances in the lottery.

Testing Obligation Once You Receive an Award

Receiving the scholarship comes with a yearly testing requirement for students in grade 3 and above. The private school administers a nationally standardized test and reports results to the NCSEAA by July 15.¹¹ Grades 3 through 8 take a test covering English, grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics. Grades 9, 10, and 12 take a nationally standardized test or equivalent in those same subjects or in verbal and quantitative skills. Grade 11 students take the ACT. Refusing to test can affect future funding eligibility.

If You Have a Child With a Disability, Look at ESA+ Too

Families whose children have documented disabilities may qualify for the Education Student Account program, known as ESA+, which pays more and allows broader spending than the Opportunity Scholarship. The base ESA+ award is $9,000 per year, and students with certain designated disabilities can receive up to $17,000.¹² ESA+ funds can cover expenses beyond tuition, including speech therapy, tutoring, and educational technology, and can be used across private schools, homeschools, and co-enrollment arrangements. Applicants need an Eligibility Determination document from a public school confirming the student needs special education services. One tax note worth knowing: the NCSEAA reports ESA+ funds spent on non-tuition expenses to the IRS on Form 1099-G, though North Carolina allows parents to deduct those amounts on their state return.¹³

1
North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. Opportunity Scholarship Income Guidelines 2026-2027
2
North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. Opportunity Scholarship
3
North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. Opportunity Scholarship 2026-2027 How to Calculate Your Income
4
North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. MyPortal Guide for Parents
5
North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. North Carolina K12 Programs Priority Application Period Opens
6
North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. General Program FAQs
7
NCSEAA K12 Scholarships. Opportunity Scholarship School Choice
8
North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. Income Verification
9
NCSEAA K12 Scholarships. Residency
10
North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. How to Renew
11
North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. Testing and Reporting
12
North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. Education Student Accounts (ESA+)
13
North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. Program Rules and Requirements