519. What is a qualified tuition program?Nuco Employeercline212014-07-24T17:51:00Z2014-07-24T17:51:00Z616949657UMKC80221132914Site Map/Education Funding/Qualified Tuition ProgramsSite Map/General Income Taxation/Individuals/Gross Income2005-01-18T00:00:00ZTaxFactsDefaultArticle123841413-00-tf2.xml1413.00;#1630;#1727;#0x010100C568DB52D9D0A14D9B2FDCC96666E9F2007948130EC3DB064584E219954237AF3900242457EFB8B24247815D688C526CD44D009C4E67E972694125ABDA91AC61F5E51FTax Facts 2What is a qualified tuition program?
13300.0000000000TaxFactsDefaultArticleSBMEDIA\moss-admin2010-01-14T22:19:48Z519.01. What is a qualified tuition program (also known as a 529 plan)?A qualified tuition program is a program established and maintained by a state (or agency or instrumentality thereof) or by one or more “eligible educational institutions” (see below) that meet certain requirements (see below) and under which a person may buy tuition credits or certificates on behalf of a designated beneficiary (see below) that entitle the beneficiary to a waiver or payment of qualified higher education expenses (see below) of the beneficiary. These plans are often collectively referred to as “529 plans.” In the case of a state-sponsored qualified tuition program, a person may make contributions to an account established to fund the qualified higher education expenses of a designated beneficiary.IRC Sec. 529(b)(1); Prop. Treas. Reg. §1.529-2(b). Qualified tuition programs sponsored by “eligible educational institutions” (i.e., private colleges and universities) are not permitted to offer savings plans; these institutions may sponsor only pre-paid tuition programs.IRC Sec. 529(b)(1)(A).To be treated as a qualified tuition program, a state program or privately sponsored program must:(1)mandate that contributions and purchases be made in cash only;(2)maintain a separate accounting for each designated beneficiary;(3)provide that no designated beneficiary or contributor may directly or indirectly direct the investment of contributions or earnings (but see below);(4)not allow any interest in the program or portion thereof to be used as security for a loan; and(5)provide adequate safeguards (see below) to prevent contributions on behalf of a designated beneficiary in excess of those necessary to provide for the beneficiary’s qualified higher education expenses.IRC Sec. 529(b).(The former requirement that a qualified state tuition program impose a “more than de minimis penalty” on any refund of earnings not used for certain purposes has been repealed.IRC Sec. 529(b)(3). See “Penalties,” in Q 520).With respect to item (3), above, the IRS announced a special rule stating that state-sponsored qualified tuition savings plans may permit parents to change the investment strategy (1) once each calendar year, and (2) whenever the beneficiary designation is changed. According to the IRS, final regulations are expected to provide that in order to qualify under this special rule, the state-sponsored qualified tuition program savings plan must: (1) allow participants to select among only broad-based investment strategies designed exclusively by the program; and (2) establish procedures and maintain appropriate records to prevent a change in investment options from occurring more frequently than once per calendar year, or upon a change in the designated beneficiary of the account. According to the IRS, qualified tuition programs and their participants may rely on the 2001 guidance pending the issuance of final regulations under IRC Section 529.Notice 2001-55, 2001-39 IRB 299.A program established and maintained by one or more “eligible educational institutions” must satisfy two requirements to be treated as a qualified tuition program: (1) the program must have received a ruling or determination that it meets the applicable requirements for a qualified tuition program; and (2) the program must provide that assets are held in a “qualified trust.”IRC Secs. 529(b)(1), 529(e)(5). “Eligible educational institution” means an accredited post-secondary college or university that offers credit towards a bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree, graduate-level degree, professional degree, or other recognized post-secondary credential and that is eligible to participate in federal student financial aid programs.See Prop. Treas. Reg. §1.529-1(c). For these purposes, qualified trust is defined as a domestic trust for the exclusive benefit of designated beneficiaries that meets the requirements set forth in the IRA rules, (i.e., a trust maintained by a bank, or other person who demonstrates that it will administer the trust in accordance with the requirements, and where the trust assets will not be commingled with other property, except in a common trust fund or common investment fund).IRC Sec. 529(b)(1).The term qualified higher education expenses means (1) tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for a designated beneficiary’s enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution (including certain vocational schools), and (2) expenses for special needs services incurred in connection with enrollment or attendance of a special needs beneficiary.IRC Sec. 529(e)(3)(A). Qualified higher education expenses also include reasonable costs for room and board, within limits. Generally, they may not exceed: (1) the allowance for room and board that was included in the cost of attendance in effect on the date that EGTRRA 2001 was enacted as determined by the school for a particular academic period, or if greater (2) the actual invoice amount the student residing in housing owned and operated by the private college or university is charged by such institution for room and board costs for a particular academic period.IRC Sec. 529(e)(3)(B). A safe harbor provides the definition of what constitutes adequate safeguards to prevent contributions in excess of those necessary to meet the beneficiary’s qualified higher education expenses. The safe harbor is satisfied if all contributions to the account are prohibited once the account balance reaches a specified limit that is applicable to all accounts of beneficiaries with the same expected year of enrollment.Prop. Treas. Reg. §1.529-2(i)(2). The total of all contributions may not exceed the amount established by actuarial estimates as necessary to pay tuition, required fees, and room and board expenses of the beneficiary for five years of undergraduate enrollment at the highest cost institution allowed by the program.Prop. Treas. Reg. §1.529-2(h)(2).Reporting. Each officer or employee having control over a qualified tuition program must report to the IRS and to designated beneficiaries with respect to contributions, distributions, and other matters that the IRS may require. The reports must be filed and furnished to the above individuals in the time and manner determined by the IRS.IRC Sec. 529(d); Prop. Treas. Reg. §1.529-4. In 2001, the IRS released guidance regarding certain recordkeeping, reporting, and other requirements applicable to qualified tuition programs in light of the amendments to IRC Section 529 under EGTRRA 2001.See Notice 2001-81, 2001-52 IRB 617. Qualified tuition programs and their participants may rely on Notice 2001-81 pending the issuance of final regulations under IRC Section 529. (Note that reporting was not required for calendar years before 1999).Notice 97-52, 1997-2 CB 306.As a general rule, a qualified tuition program is exempt from federal income tax, except the tax on unrelated business income of charitable organizations imposed by IRC Section 511.IRC Sec. 529(a).Under Section 225 of BAPCPA 2005, funds used to purchase a tuition credit or certificate or contributed to an account under a QTP no later than 365 days before the date of the filing of the bankruptcy petition may be excluded from the bankruptcy estate if certain conditions are met.11 USC 541(b).IRC Section 529 generally took effect for taxable years ending after August 20, 1996; special transitional rules applied for earlier programs. See Q 520 for the tax treatment of distributions from qualified tuition programs. See Q 606 for the estate tax treatment and Q 652 for the gift tax treatment of qualified tuition programs.Permanent extension of expiring provisions under PPA 2006: The qualified tuition program provisions that were scheduled to expire by reason of the EGTRRA sunset provision included: (1) the provision that makes qualified withdrawals from qualified tuition accounts fully exempt from income tax; (2) the repeal of a pre-EGTRRA requirement that there be more than a de minimis penalty imposed on amounts not used for educational purposes, and the imposition of the 10% additional tax on distributions not used for qualified higher education purposes; (3) the provision permitting certain private educational institutions to establish prepaid tuition programs that qualify under IRC Section 529 if they receive a ruling or determination to that effect from the IRS, and if the assets are held in a trust created or organized for the exclusive benefit of designated beneficiaries; (4) certain provisions permitting rollovers from one account to another account; (5) certain rules regarding the treatment of room and board as qualifying expenses; (6) certain rules regarding coordination with Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Credit provisions; (7) the provision that treats first cousins as members of the family for purposes of the rollover and change in beneficiary rules; and (8) certain provisions regarding the education expenses of special needs beneficiaries. All of the above provisions have been made permanent.Sec. 1304(a), PPA 2006. The Act also provides that the Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary or appropriate to prevent abuse of 529 plans.IRC Sec. 529(f).519.02. How does contribution to a qualified tuition program (also known as a 529 plan) impact a taxpayer’s ability to claim education-related credits? Can a taxpayer contribute both to a qualified tuition plan and an education savings account?A taxpayer may claim an American Opportunity or Lifetime Learning Credit and exclude distributions from a qualified tuition program on behalf of the same student in the same taxable year if the distribution is not used to pay the same educational expenses for which the credit was claimed.See IRC Sec. 529(c)(3)(B)(v). See Q 560. An individual is required to reduce his total qualified higher education expenses by certain scholarships and by the amount of expenses taken into account in determining the American Opportunity or Lifetime Learning credit allowable to the taxpayer (or any other person).IRC Sec. 529(c)(3)(B)(v).A contribution to a qualified tuition program can be made in the same taxable year as a contribution to a Coverdell Education Savings Account for the benefit of the same designated beneficiary without incurring an excise tax. (See Q 518.)IRC Sec. 4973(e). If the aggregate distributions from a qualified tuition program exceed the total amount of qualified higher education expenses taken into account after reduction for the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning credits, then the expenses must be allocated between the Coverdell Education Savings Account distributions and the qualified tuition program distributions for purposes of determining the amount of the exclusion.IRC Sec. 529(c)(3)(B)(vi).The total amount of qualified tuition and related expenses for the deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses is reduced by the amount of such expenses taken into account in determining the exclusion for distributions from qualified tuition programs. For these purposes, the excludable amount under IRC Section 529 does not include that portion of the distribution that represents a return of contributions to the plan.IRC Sec. 222(c)(2)(B).