October 12, 2008
Tuition Assistance Application
(ARA) - The rising cost of tuition has put many families in a bind. A survey conducted by the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges found that tuition at public institutions increased in 37 of the states that responded. In Arizona, California and New York all surveyed schools reported in-state tuition increases of at least 20 percent. Tuition at the State University of New York has increased by 30 percent and at the University of California by as much as 40 percent over last falls levels.
While all parents want the best education for their children, financial constraints can be a burden on the long-term investment in their childs education. However, with diligent planning, families can work together to develop solutions to this problem and be able to afford the best education for their children. Ray Loewe, college planning expert and advisory board member for the GE Center for Financial Learning, offers the following tips on college planning and ways to make the transition back to school more affordable.
* While tuition costs are on the rise, interest rates for paying back college loans will drop to an all-time low. Its good news to those already paying off loans or who will start paying in the near future. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, someone with $25,000 in debt could save about $5,000 in 20 years if he or she consolidates at this rate.
* Students should try and find a part-time job. Jobs offered on a college campus are ideal because employers know from the outset that theyre hiring college students with their irregular schedules, tests and exams. They know that education is a priority and are usually more forgiving as a result.
* Many parents think that Saving for College will just disqualify a student from getting financial aid. The actual fact is that income most often keeps students from qualifying for financial aid, not their assets. At the same time saving for education is an investment.
* There are four types of financial aid: scholarships, grants, loans and work-study employment. Colleges are not created equal regarding financial aid. Become familiar with your colleges financial aid packages.
* Apply for a loan. Loans are financial aid available to both parents and students. They are subsidized by the federal or state government, financial institutions or the college and may have lower interest rates than regular loans. Generally, you do not start paying back these loans until after college graduation.
There are many ways to prevent future financial hardships that can arise from paying for education, but having a plan is crucial. Web sites such as the GE Center for Financial Learning (www.financiallearning.com) can help you and your family take action to ensure an easy and trouble-free return to school each semester.
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With education costs soaring to all time highs, making tuition payments for grandchildren and others can save lots of money in gift and estate taxes down the road - even if the donor is not alive when the tuition money is actually used.
By way of some background, the tax laws exempt tuition payments by grandparents or others from any gift taxes, provided certain requirements are met. First, the only educational costs that are gift-tax free are tuition costs. The cost of room and board, books, and other educational expenses are not exempt.
Second, the tuition costs must be paid directly to an educational organization that “normally maintains a regular faculty and curriculum and normally has a regularly enrolled body of pupils or students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are regularly carried on.” Notice that there is no requirement that the tuition costs be paid to a college or university. In fact, tuition payments for nursery school, private elementary school, and private high school may also qualify. It’s possible, too, that tuition payments for part-time courses, such as dance, theater, music, cullinary arts, and the like will also qualify for the gift tax exemption.
So, how is this such a good deal? In the first place, these tuition payments are not treated as taxable gifts, so you don’t have to worry about having them come under the annual gift tax exclusion. In fact, you can make tuition payments for your grandchildren or others and still give each of them the annual exclusion amount ($12,000 for 2006) as a birthday gift or whatever.
Second, if your estate is large enough to be concerned about federal estate taxes (currently in excess of $2 million, $4 million for a couple), then the amount of the tuition payments will be excluded from your estate upon your death. In other words, your tuition payments will not be subject to a gift tax when the payments are made, nor will they be subject to an estate tax upon your death. In addition, they will not be subject to any generation-skipping taxes (GST) upon your death
That’s pretty good deal by itself, but here’s an added bonus. On July 9, 1999, the Internal Revenue Service issued Technical Advice Memorandum 199941013 stating that prepayment of tuition costs was also exempt from gift taxes under IRC Section 2503(3)(2). In that particular case, a set of grandparents had made payments to a private school to cover tuitiion costs for their two grandchildren from pre-school through grade 12. There was an agreement between the school and the grandparents indicating that the tuition payments would not be refundable even if the grandchildren failed to attend the school each of those years. The total payments made by the grandparents amounted to over $181,000 over a two-year period.
Recently, the Internal Revenue Service issued a private letter ruling that supports the Technical Advice Memorandum cited above. In that case, the IRS told a taxpayer that prepayments of many years of tuition costs for his grandchildren would not be considered a gift.
While Technical Advice Memorandums and private letter rulings only apply to the taxpayer’s who request them, they are a good indication of the IRS’ position on specific tax matters. Here, it appears fairly clear that prepayment of multiple years of tuition costs will not be treated as a taxable gift by the IRS.
Now, let’s sort of put all this into perspective. In the TAM discussed above, the grandparents pre-paid roughly $181,000 of tuition costs over a two-year period. The payments were not treated as taxable gifts and, since the money was removed from their estate, it was not subject to estate taxes upon their death. If the grandparents kept the money until they died and then gave it to their grandchildren under their will, it would have gone through probate first, then would have been subject to a federal estate tax and then, possibly, a generation-skipping tax - all before it could be used by the grandchildren.
If the grandparents had a fairly large estate, say larger than $4 million, then the estate taxes paid on that $181,000 would be roughly $83,260 (based upon a marginal tax rate of 46%). In that case, prepaying the tuition costs resulted in an estate tax savings of roughly $83,260. Plus, the grandparents didn’t have to use up their annual gift-tax exclusion to get the estate tax savings.
Still, there are some drawbacks that you should be aware of. First, you have to have a large enough estate to be concerned about estate taxes. Second, you probably should be concerned about dying before your grandchildren complete their education. Otherwise, you could just pay the tuition costs as they become due.
Finally, when you prepay your grandchildren’s tuition costs, you won’t be able to get the money back if your grandchildren drop out of school or decide to attend a different school. Some schools may allow the money to transfer to another school, but that would have to be agreed upon beforehand. Even so, there is no guarantee the IRS will go along with those types of arrangements.
One final point, tuition payments excluded from gift taxes under IRC Section 2503(e)(2) are not the same as payments under a 529 plan. First, gifts to 529 plans come under the annual gift-tax exclusion. Prepaid tuition gifts are in addition to the annual exclusion gifts.
Second, gifts to a 529 plan are excluded from the donor’s estate only if the donor survives during each year for which the pre-payment was made. Prepaid tuition gifts are excluded from the donor’s estate as soon as the prepayment is made.
Third, 529 plans apply only to higher education (college and beyond) whereas prepaid tuition gifts apply to all levels of education, including nursery schools, elementary and high school.
Fourth, 529 plans apply to all education costs, including room and board, books and supplies, as well as tuition. Prepaid tuition gifts apply only to tuition costs.
That is not to say, however, that prepaid tuition gifts cannot be used in tandum with 529 plans.
For wealthy grandparents who are inclined to help with their grandchildren’s education costs, a prepaid tuition gift under IRC Section 2503(3)(2) certainly should be considered.
Copyright 2005. LivingTrustNetwork, LLC.
About the Author
Attorney Michael P. Pancheri is the founder and CEO of the Living Trust Network. You may contact him by email at info@livingtrustnetwork.com. You may also contact him at the Living Trust Network’s web site. Its URL is http://www.livingtrustnetwork.com.
Tags: Tuition Research
