Higher Education Costs Continue to Escalate

The cost of attending college continues to increase. The College Board reports that 2012-2013 tuition and fees have risen significantly (www.collegeboard.org). Private four-year colleges are up 4.2% (to an average of $29,056)from 2011-2012 for tuition and fees. Public four-year colleges are up 4.8% (to an average of $8,655) from last year for in-state tuition and fees. Public four-year colleges are up 4.2% (to an average of $21,706) from last year for out-of-state tuition and fees. Even public two-year schools are up 5.8% (to an average of $3,131). The report indicates that the subsidies provided to full-time undergraduates at public universities through the combination of grant aid and federal tax benefits averaged $5,750 in 2012-2013.

Help Grandchildren with College Costs

Contributing to a Section 529 college savings program is a great way for grandparents to help their grandchildren pay for college. It is also a great way to remove assets from the grandparent's estate without paying estate tax. As an added feature, money in a 529 plan owned by a grandparent is not assessed by the federal financial aid formula when qualifying for student aid.
Grandparents, as well as other taxpayers, have a unique opportunity for gifting to Section 529 college savings plans by contributing up to $70,000 at one time, which currently represents five years of gifts at $14,000 per year. ($14,000 is the annual gift tax exclusion amount for 2013.) A married couple who elects gift-splitting can contribute up to double that amount ($140,000 in 2013) to a beneficiary's 529 plan account(s) with no adverse federal gift tax consequences.
Example: Electing to spread a 529 plan gift over five years.
In 2013, Linda contributes $75,000 to a 529 plan account for the benefit of her grandson, James. She makes no other gifts to James in 2013. Because the gift exceeds the $14,000 annual gift tax exclusion, Linda elects to account for the gift ratably over five years beginning with 2013. Only $70,000 (five times the current annual gift tax exclusion) is eligible for the election; therefore, Linda is treated as having made an excludible gift of $14,000 in years 2013-2017, and a taxable gift of the remainder ($5,000) in 2013.