Many of you have already made your first tuition payment; apologies if this is coming too late! If you’re getting to the point of making college payments, you need to make sure the relevant bank accounts are attached to your 529 plan. If you’ve been contributing to the plan, it’s pretty likely that yours is already. But your student’s probably isn’t, and if you want money from the 529 distributed to them (here is a previous post on why you Continue reading Getting Money out of Your 529
Category Archives: 529 Plans
Summer Jobs and FAFSA
The FAFSA’s new timing– fall instead of spring and prior-prior income year– means that many students’ summer jobs will have a bigger impact on their EFC. That’s because any amount of money they made that is still in their bank account when they fill out the FAFSA is an asset that will be assessed at 20%. (Remember, students don’t get an asset protection allowance.) Need-eligible families may want to consider a couple of steps to Continue reading Summer Jobs and FAFSA
College Savings “Rules of Thumb”
One problem with a phrase like “rule of thumb” is that when you type it, it’s in your mind for long enough to seem extra weird. Setting that aside, a recent New York Times article has some good suggestions for simplifying the college savings process. Among them: Continue reading College Savings “Rules of Thumb”
Can You Use a Roth IRA for College? Should You?
Today’s post is written by a fellow fee-only advisor, Greg Phelps, CFP®, CLU®, AIF®, AAMS®, of Redrock Wealth Management.
Saving for a child’s college education is perhaps one of the most noble things a parent will ever do. It’s also one of the toughest financial goals to tackle, because similar to healthcare costs, college expenses have risen across the board at 5% per year. Continue reading Can You Use a Roth IRA for College? Should You?
Planning for College Cash Flow
Before you sign up, you have to figure out how you’re going to pay for college each year. The first step in figuring that out is confirming with the school what has to happen for your aid package to be renewed. Then, consider the additional costs that aren’t included in the award letter—travel to and from school, activities your student intends to participate in, spending money. With all of those items written down, you have a good sense of what you’ll actually spend each year. This may seem really elementary, but most Continue reading Planning for College Cash Flow
For Grandparents Wanting to Help
Here is an article I wrote for another advisor explaining how grandparents might be most effective in helping to pay their grandchildren’s college expenses. Should you be among those fortunate enough to have relatives willing to help, you might want to take a look.
How America Pays for College
Sallie Mae’s annual How America Pays for College report has some good news: In the 2015-2016 school year, the average amount families spent on college went down slightly, to $23,688. The biggest decline came on spending for 2-year colleges; families with students in 4-year schools reported spending about the same as in the previous year. In Continue reading How America Pays for College
Tax Time Reporting: 1099 Q
Do you need to report 1099 q income on your tax return? As long as none of the distribution is taxable (i.e., you have qualifying expenses to offset it), NO, you do not have to report it.
However, you should keep records of your qualified expenses. That’s especially true if the Continue reading Tax Time Reporting: 1099 Q
Rebalancing 529 Accounts
You can rebalance your 529 plan account twice a year. Just because you can, should you? If you’re in an age-based investment option, you don’t need to rebalance to maintain the correct asset allocation. That’s what an age-based strategy does for you. Those who select their own funds should rebalance, especially since your allocation has probably become Continue reading Rebalancing 529 Accounts
PATH Act and 529s
The PATH Act that went into effect in 2015 includes several changes pertinent to 529 plans. The big ones:
- Computers, peripherals and Internet access are now qualified expenses. So add any money spent on those to what’s on your 1098-t.
- People with multiple 529 accounts no longer need to aggregate them to determine how much is taxable earnings in the event of an excess withdrawal. Instead a single account can be used for that, as long as funds were withdrawn from that account.
- In the event you receive a refund from a college– for example, you withdraw from a class– you can now redeposit that refund in the 529 account within 60 days for no penalty.
