| In an ongoing attempt to give relief to taxpayers seeking ways to pay for higher education, Congress has passed a law permitting taxpayers to make withdrawals from their individual retirement accounts (IRA) to pay qualified higher education expenses for themselves, spouses, children, or grandchildren to a qualified educational institution. A taxpayer may also make a withdrawal from a Roth IRA to pay qualified educational expenses.
This law does not relieve the taxpayer from the federal income tax liability on the amount withdrawn. However, the Internal Revenue Service will not impose a 10 percent early withdrawal tax that is normally imposed on amounts withdrawn from an IRA before the account holder reaches the age of 59-1/2.
Withdrawals not subject to the 10 percent early withdrawal tax must not exceed the qualified higher education expenses. These expenses include tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution. Qualified higher education expenses also include room and board if the student is enrolled at least half-time.
In determining how much of the IRA is not subject to the 10 percent additional tax, the IRS takes into consideration the amount of higher education expenses that are paid with earnings, loans, gifts, inheritances, and personal savings. Excluded from the calculation are expenses paid with Pell Grants or other tax-free scholarships, tax-free distributions from an Education IRA, or tax-free employer-provided educational assistance.
An educational institution qualifying for this tax benefit is any college, university, vocational school, or other post-secondary institution that is eligible to participate in federal student aid programs. This category basically includes all accredited public, nonprofit, and proprietary post secondary institutions. Copyright 2010 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. |