{"id":1028,"date":"2014-07-28T11:19:13","date_gmt":"2014-07-28T11:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/evergreensmallbusiness.com\/?p=1028"},"modified":"2015-05-18T20:18:54","modified_gmt":"2015-05-18T20:18:54","slug":"a-contrary-take-on-sec-529-plans-and-qualified-tuition-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/evergreensmallbusiness.com\/a-contrary-take-on-sec-529-plans-and-qualified-tuition-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"A Contrary Take on Sec. 529 Plans and Qualified Tuition Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Picture<\/a>
Sec. 529 educational savings plans may not be as attractive as you hope.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you\u2019re here, reading this page, you probably understand what a Sec. 529 plan is. This plan, a tool for accumulating money for college costs, lets you put money into an account where the money grows without being taxed.<\/p>\n

And then, as long as you withdraw the money to pay for qualified higher education expenses, the money (including any investment earnings) isn\u2019t subject to any income taxes.<\/p>\n

The superficial appeal of these accounts seems pretty sound, right? You save money for a child\u2019s or grandchild\u2019s college costs, but thankfully don\u2019t have to pay income taxes on the interest or investment income those savings produce.<\/p>\n

Some Minor Details<\/h2>\n

Let me, just to put us all on the same page, go over handful of details here, too.<\/p>\n

You can put up to $14,000 a year into one of these plans without triggering any gift tax reporting requirement. For example, in 2014, you could put $14,000 in a Sec. 529 and not worry about gift tax reporting.<\/p>\n

Further, you can elect (through what amounts to a special loophole) to accelerate your funding and do five years of contributions all at once, thereby putting not $14,000 into one of these accounts but $70,000 all at once.<\/p>\n

In other words, the tax law will allow you in 2014 to put not only $14,000 for the 2014 calendar year\u2026 but also the $14,000 for the 2015 calendar year, $14,000 for the 2016 calendar year, $14,000 for the 2017 calendar year and $14,000 for the 2018 calendar year.<\/p>\n

Qualified higher education expenses, by the way, include all the stuff you\u2019d expect: tuition, books, lab fees, necessary supplies and equipment. Further, for students attending school at least half time, qualified higher education expenses also include reasonable room and board costs.<\/p>\n

Finally, if it turns out the money in the account isn\u2019t used for qualified higher education expenses, any withdrawals are taxable and also subject to a ten percent penalty.<\/p>\n

On the face of it, though, a Sec. 529 plan looks pretty good.<\/p>\n

But as a tax accountant, the father of two daughters who went to college and an uncle to, gosh, maybe a dozen nieces and nephews, I see three really fundamental problems that greatly diminish the attractiveness of the Sec. 529 tactic.<\/p>\n

Problem #1: Your College Money Probably Won\u2019t be Taxed Over Saving Years<\/h2>\n

The first problem with a Sec. 529 plan is that its fundamental benefit, that \u201ctax-free\u201d compounding of interest, isn\u2019t really a unique benefit.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s why: That college savings money you\u2019re saving for your kids? The investment income earned on that money probably won\u2019t be taxable anyway because of the child\u2019s roughly $1,000 standard deduction.<\/p>\n

In other words, and using dividend yields and interest rates from yesterday\u2019s Wall Street Journal, you could have roughly $80,000 saved for a kid invested in a stock market index fund and that money still would not generate enough income to be taxed once you get this income against the child\u2019s standard deduction.<\/p>\n

If you wanted to use certificates of deposit or treasury bonds, the interest rate is higher than 1.2% obviously. But not that much higher. Maybe if you go all CDs or bonds, then, you can have $40,000 saved in these sorts of investments which if in the kid\u2019s name isn\u2019t going to be taxed. Because the interest income on this amount of money gets wiped out once you net the income against the child\u2019s standard deduction.<\/p>\n

Depending on the asset allocation you use, then, the first $40,000 to $80,000 of college savings you accumulate for a child or grandchild won\u2019t be taxed at all.<\/p>\n

And then the next $40,000 to $80,000 will be taxed very lightly. Qualified dividends for example will be taxed at a zero percent tax rate. And interest income will be taxed at 10%.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> If you had even more money saved for a child, he or she pays taxes using the parent\u2019s marginal rate.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s stop here and ask a question: How much money do you have saved? Do you even need to worry about income taxes on your kid\u2019s college savings? For most people, the answer is \u201cno.\u201d Which means that for most people, the Sec. 529 plan arrangement fails to deliver its principal benefit: tax-free compounding over the years before a child enters college.<\/p>\n

Problem #2: Your College Money Possibly Won\u2019t be Taxed Over College Years<\/h2>\n

Well, so okay you\u2019re thinking, maybe the investment earnings on any college savings won\u2019t be taxed during the accumulation phase\u2026 but surely when the student begins spending down the money in college, the capital gains will create tax.<\/p>\n

Okay, so let\u2019s look at this scenario. Say that you put $40,000 in a kid\u2019s college fund the day he or she is born. Furthermore, assume by the time the child starts college this money has appreciated to (say) $100,000. That\u2019s great. Spending down this sum at the rate of $25,000 a year will pay for most or even all of a public university. Or a nice chunk of a private school.<\/p>\n

And won\u2019t there be taxes on the capital gains implicit in this scenario?<\/p>\n

I think the answer is \u201cno.\u201d And here\u2019s the reason: If your son or daughter pays their way through college with money from their savings (or from money from a Sec. 529 by the way), they very likely aren\u2019t going to be your dependent any longer. They\u2019ll be paying more than half of their living expenses using the money you saved for them. And so they\u2019ll be independent.<\/p>\n

And because of this, you need to think about a bit of tax law weirdness. Someone with a taxable income of less than about $35,000 a year (like a college kid) pays a zero-percent long-term capital gains rate and qualified dividends. So it probably turns out that the liquidation proceeds aren\u2019t subject to tax either.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> By the way, under current tax law, if your kid is independent of you and has a job, he or she will probably end up the recipient of some generous tuition-related tax benefits.<\/p>\n

Let me stop and summarize the likely situation with regard to those supposed tax benefits of a Sec. 529 plan. A Sec. 529 plan probably doesn\u2019t save most people any taxes over the savings years. And a Sec. 529 plan probably also doesn\u2019t save someone taxes during the spending years.<\/p>\n

Which is weird, right? Because the tax savings angle is the very reason people think about using one of these plans.<\/p>\n

Problem #3: The High Probability Your Child Won\u2019t Spend Four Years in College<\/h2>\n

But there\u2019s one more practical problem with a Sec. 529 plan, too, as compared to just saving the money in a kid\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t freak out, but you should know that there\u2019s a pretty good chance that either your kids won\u2019t go to college or that if they do, they won\u2019t actually spend four years in college and complete a degree.<\/p>\n

I know. Unbelievable, right? This statement on the face of it seems to be just the sort of absurd assertion that proves people can\u2019t believe what they read on a blog. So let me provide some backup data.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a link from the Bureau of Labor statistics (click here<\/a>) that says roughly 66% of 2013 high school graduates enrolled in college \u2026which means of course that about 34% didn\u2019t enroll.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s dig deeper. While that 66% figure seems to indicate two-thirds of parents should stretch to save money for college, \u201cstarting college\u201d isn\u2019t the same thing as \u201cneeding money for four years of college.\u201d<\/p>\n

So an important question is, how many kids in that 66% cohort actually finish.<\/p>\n

The answer is shocking\u2014to me at least. In a study available at their website (click here<\/a>) the Chronicle of Higher Education suggests that after four years of study, perhaps less than half actually finish a degree. So maybe on average only 33% actually need full funding for a degree?<\/p>\n

And just to beat this thing to death, this value isn\u2019t out of line with a couple of other data points.<\/p>\n

The U.S Census Bureau, for example, reports that overall, college graduates make up about 27.5% of the population aged 25 or older (click here<\/a> for that report). And the Brookings Institute provides data that meshes pretty neatly with this figure too.<\/p>\n

In fact, let me point out something which is awkward to bring up but let\u2019s go there anyway. You might agree with all this talk about college being an investment that seems to work a lot less well than most people think. But then you might also quickly assume that because you\u2019re socio-economically privileged that the statistics shared don\u2019t apply to you\u2014and maybe you\u2019d be right. But that Brooking Institute data (click here<\/a> for example) suggests that even kids from the highest quartile have graduation rates that are barely over 50%.<\/p>\n

So this represents the third problem with a Sec. 529 plan and a final big flaw: if your child or grandchild ends up not going to college (a pretty good chance of that) or ends up going to college for a little while but then changes course (also a pretty good chance of that), you maybe don\u2019t want the money you\u2019ve earmarked for their future locked up inside a Sec. 529 plan.<\/p>\n

Why? Well, again, remember that these Sec. 529 plans are all about tax planning. And in this very plausible scenario where a kid doesn\u2019t spend the money on college or all of the money on college, someone will be paying ordinary income tax rates and a ten percent penalty on the money withdrawn. Ouch.<\/p>\n

Summing Up the Sec. 529 Situation<\/h2>\n

So, bottom line, do Sec. 529 plans make tax-sense? The best case for you depends on your specific situation, but it\u2019s pretty tough to justify a Sec. 529 based on the tax savings for most people.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, locking up your money inside one of these accounts isn\u2019t going to work very well if your kid decides he or she wants to do something other than go to college. If this happens, you might have wished the kid could use the money to get some other form of job training, to buy a small business, or to purchase a home.<\/p>\n

Finally, please note that I\u2019m not suggesting you not save money for your kid\u2019s future if you\u2019ve got the ability to do so. I think saving for things like college makes great sense. But you can probably get to the same place and end up with a lot more flexibility if you don\u2019t use a Sec. 529 lpan but rather a regular investment account for the kid or grandkid.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> You can ask the bank or mutual fund company about this, but probably you\u2019ll put the money into something like a \u201cUniform Gift to Minors Act\u201d trust (sometimes called an UGMA account).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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This plan, a tool for accumulating money for college costs, lets you put money into an account where the money grows without being taxed. 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