Authorities say Georgia nonprofit agencies had to return millions of dollars to taxpayers who wanted to donate money to the popular Georgia Tax Credit Scholarship Program.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the lure of receiving a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for contributions made to support scholarships for public school students seeking a private school education had more people donating faster than ever.

But officials said the program reached its $50 million cap on tax credits in 2011 faster than anticipated. The cap was reached in early November, weeks before the Dec. 31 deadline when a large chunk of last-minute contributions roll in.

Georgia Department of Revenue officials said they rejected the applications of 2,764 taxpayers seeking tax credits for $5.7 million they hoped to contribute in 2011.

Tags: students, public schools, private schools, low-income tax credit, Georgia Tax Credit Scholarship Program