A lot of Flexibility in 529 Education Plans

November 3, 2021

Statecollege.com’s recent article entitled “Did You Know 529s Are Powerful Estate Planning Tools?” explains that specialized savings accounts, informally referred to as 529s, could be at the top of your list. There is a lot of flexibility in 529 education plans. These accounts have a number of advantages for beneficiaries. There are also benefits for the donors in the high maximum contribution limits and tax advantages.

Special tax rules governing these accounts let you decrease your taxable estate. That might minimize future federal gift and estate taxes. In 2021, the lifetime exclusion is now $11.7 million per person, so most of us don’t have to concern ourselves with our estates exceeding that limit. However, remember that the threshold will revert back to just over $5 million per person in 2026.

Under the rules that govern 529s, you can make a lump-sum contribution to a 529 plan up to five times the annual limit of $15,000. As a result, you can give $75,000 per recipient ($150,000 for married couples), provided you document your five-year gift on your federal gift tax return and don’t make any more gifts to the same recipient during that five-year period. You can, however, go ahead and give another lump sum after those five years are through. The $150,000 gift per beneficiary won’t have a gift tax, as long as you and your spouse follow the rules.

Many people think that gifting a big chunk of money in a 529 means they’ll irrevocably give up control of those assets. However, a lot of the flexibility in 529 education plans is allowing you to have considerable control—especially if you title the account in your name. At any time, you can get your money back, but it will be part of your taxable estate again subject to your nominal federal tax rate. There’s also a 10% penalty on the earnings portion of the withdrawal, if you don’t use the money for your designated beneficiary’s qualified education expenses.

If your chosen beneficiary doesn’t need some or all of the money you’ve put in a 529, you can earmark the money for other types of education, like graduate school. You can also change the beneficiary to another member of the family as many times as you like. This is nice if your original beneficiary chooses not to go to college at all.

In addition, you can take the money and pay the taxes on any gains. Normally, you’d also expect to pay a penalty on the earnings but not for scholarships. The penalty is waived on amounts equal to the scholarship, provided they’re withdrawn the same year the scholarship is received, effectively turning your tax-free 529 into a tax-deferred investment. You can always use the money to pay for other qualified education expenses, like room and board, books and supplies. If you are interested in learning more about 529 education plans, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: statecollege.com (Aug. 29, 2021) “Did You Know 529s Are Powerful Estate Planning Tools?”

Many Benefits of 529 Plans

September 22, 2021

There are many benefits of 529 college saving plans. You might think that tax-deferred savings is the main benefit, along with tax-free withdrawals for qualifying higher education expenses. However, there are also state tax incentives, such as tax deductions, credits, grants, or exemption from financial aid consideration from in-state schools in certain states.

Forbes’ recent article entitled “7 Benefits You Didn’t Know About 529 College Savings Plans (But Should)” says there are many more advantages to the college savings programs than simple tax benefits.

1) Registered Apprenticeship Programs Qualify. You can make qualified withdrawals from a 529 plan for registered apprenticeship programs. These programs cover a wide range of areas with an average annual salary for those that complete their apprenticeship of $70,000.

2) International Schools Usually Qualify. More than 400 schools outside of the US are considered to be qualified higher education institutions. You can, therefore, make tax-free withdrawals from a 529 plan for qualifying expenses at those colleges.

3) Gap Year and College Credit Classes for High School. Some gap year programs have partnered with higher education institutions to qualify for funding from 529 accounts. This includes some international and domestic gap year, outdoor education, study-abroad, wilderness survival, sustainable living trades and art programs. Primary school students over 14 can also use 529 funds for college credit classes, where available.

4) Get Your Money Back if Not Going to College. If your beneficiary meets certain criteria, it’s possible to avoid a 10% penalty and changing the plan from tax-free to tax-deferred. For this to happen, the beneficiary must:

Receive a tax-free scholarship or grant
Attend a US military academy
Die or become disabled; or
Get assistance through a qualifying employer-assisted college savings program.

Note that 529 plans are technically revocable. Therefore, you can rescind the gift and pull the assets back into the estate of the account owner. However, there are tax consequences, including tax on earnings plus a 10% penalty tax.

5) Private K–12 Tuition Is Qualified. 529 withdrawals can be used for up to $10,000 of tuition expenses at private K–12 schools. However, other expenses, such as computers, supplies, travel and other costs are not qualified.

6) Pay Off Your Student Loans. If you graduate with some money leftover in a 529 account, it can be used for up to $10,000 in certain student loan repayments.

7) Estate Planning. Contributions to a 529 plan are completed gifts to the beneficiary. These can be “superfunded” for up to $75,000 per beneficiary in a single year, effectively using five years’ worth of annual gift tax exemption up front. For retirees with significant RMDs (required minimum distributions) from qualified accounts, such as 401(k)s and traditional IRAs, the 529 plan offers high contribution limits across multiple beneficiaries, while retaining control of the assets during the lifetime of the account owner. Assets also pass by contract upon death, avoiding probate and estate tax.

Work closely with your financial advisor and estate planning attorney to ensure you are getting the most benefits out of your 529 college saving plans.

If you would like to read more about 529 plans, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Forbes (July 15, 2021) “7 Benefits You Didn’t Know About 529 College Savings Plans (But Should)”

More Pluses than Minuses in 529 Plans

July 21, 2021

There are two basic types of 529 plans, says Texas News Today’s recent article entitled “What you need to know about the “529” Education Savings Account.” The more common type is the 529 College Savings Plan. This allows parents, grandparents and others to invest money to cover eligible education for beneficiaries. The less common type is the 529 prepaid tuition program, in which tuition is paid at a set price. Overall, there are more pluses than minuses in a 529 college savings plan. Here is how it works.

Contributions to the 529 Plan aren’t tax deductible at the federal level. However, many states offer state income tax deductions or credits. Your money grows tax-free and withdrawals to pay tuition and other eligible expenses are free of federal taxes and, in many instances, state income taxes.

529 plans can be used to pay for various college fees like tuition, room, food, books, and technology. You can pay up to $10,000 a year for K-12 tuition. You can also transfer the money in your account to other recipients. There are more pluses than minuses in a 529 college savings plan. However, you should note that you may face tax impacts and penalties for withdrawals that aren’t considered eligible costs. Your child’s college needs financial assistance may also be reduced, and you cannot purchase individual stocks within the 529 plan. However, you can select a number of investment options. Even so, you have fewer options than if you were designing your own portfolio.

You can transfer some or all of the existing funds in your account to another investment option twice in a calendar year or after changing beneficiaries. You can also select a different investment option whenever you join the plan. You can switch to another state’s plan once every 12 months. However, there are a few states that exclude such shifts from their plans.

Each state has set a total contribution limit of $235,000 to $542,000 per beneficiary. When an account hits the limit, you will not be able to make any more donations. However, revenue will continue to accumulate. There’s no annual donation limit, but donations are considered gifts for federal tax purposes. Therefore, this year, you could donate $15,000 per donor and per recipient with no federal gift tax. You can also make a $75,000 tax-exempt 529 plan donation and evenly distribute it to your tax return for the next five years, which is an option that some grandparents use as a tool for real estate planning.

The benefits of saving for college through the 529 plan are likely to outweigh the potential impact on financial assistance. Assets in an account owned by either a student or their parents are considered parental assets for federal financial assistance purposes, and typically only 5.64% of accounts are considered annually in the FAFSA (Federal Student Assistance Free Application) calculation. This is an advantage over being counted as a student asset because distribution under this ownership structure doesn’t disqualify the university for financial assistance. The assets of the grandparents’ account don’t impact the student’s FAFSA, but the distribution counts as the student’s income and affects aid.

If you would like to learn more about 529s and other types of investment programs, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Texas News Today (June 8, 2021) “What you need to know about the “529” Education Savings Account”

529s are Flexible Estate Planning Tools

June 21, 2021

Estate planning attorneys, accountants and CPAs say that 529s are more than good ways to save for college. 529s are flexible estate planning tools, useful far beyond education spending, that cost practically nothing to set up. In the very near future, the role of 529s could expand greatly, according to the article “A Loophole Makes ‘529’ Plans Good Wealth Transfer Tools. Here’s How to Use Them” from Barron’s.

Most tactics to reduce the size of an estate are irrevocable and cannot be undone, but the 529 allows you to change the beneficiaries of a 529 account. Even the owners can be changed multiple times. Here’s how they work, and why they deserve more attention.

The 529 is funded with after tax dollars, and all money taken out of the account, including investment gains, is tax free as long as it is spent on qualified education expenses. That includes tuition, room and board and books. What about money used for non-qualified expenses? Income taxes are due, plus a 10% penalty. Only the original contribution is not taxed, if used for non-qualified expenses.

Most states have their own 529 plans, but you can use a plan from any state. Check to see if there are tax advantages from using your state’s plan and know the details before you open an account and start making contributions.

Each 529 account owner must designate a single beneficiary, but money can be moved between beneficiaries, as long as they are in the same family. You can move money that was in a child’s account into their own child’s account, with no taxes, as long as you don’t hit gift tax exclusion levels.

In most states, you can contribute up to $15,000 per beneficiary to a 529 plan. However, each account owner can also pay up to five years’ worth of contributions without triggering gift taxes. A couple together may contribute up to $150,000 per beneficiary, and they can do it for multiple people.

There are no limits to the number of 529s a person may own. If you’re blessed with ten grandchildren, you can open a 529 account for each one of them.

For one family with eight grandchildren, plus one child in graduate school, contributions were made of $1.35 million to various 529 plans. By doing this, their estate, valued at $13 million, was reduced below the federal tax exclusion limit of $11.7 million per person. This is an example of how 529s are flexible estate planning tools.

Think of the money as a family education endowment. If it’s needed for a crisis, it can be accessed, even though taxes will need to be paid.

To create a 529 for estate planning that will last for multiple generations, provisions need to be made to transfer ownership. Funding 529 plans for grandchildren’s education must be accompanied by designating their parents—the adult children—as successor owners, when the grandparents die or become incapacitated.

The use of 529s has changed over the years. Originally only for college tuition, room and board, today they can be used for private elementary school or high school. They can also be used to take cooking classes, language classes or career training at accredited institutions. Be mindful that some expenses will not qualify—including transportation costs, healthcare and personal expenses.

If you would like to learn more about various estate planning tools, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Barron’s (May 29, 2021) “A Loophole Makes ‘529’ Plans Good Wealth Transfer Tools. Here’s How to Use Them”

Category: Education

A lot of Flexibility in 529 Education Plans

Many Benefits of 529 Plans

More Pluses than Minuses in 529 Plans

529s are Flexible Estate Planning Tools

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