College Savings Plans: Not Just for Education

Abstract

Although section 529, under which tax preferred college savings accounts may be established, was enacted to alleviate the large financial burden of paying for a taxpayer's family members' higher education, it has provided taxpayers with the potential for additional income, gift, and estate tax benefits unintended by the very generous statute. The government's advance notice of proposed rule making cites several of those tax avoidance schemes, proposes some solutions, and asks the public for its recommendations to curb those abuses.

Keywords: college savings plans, college savings accounts, section 529, income tax, gift tax, estate tax, tax avoidance, tax abuse

JEL Classification: H2, H24, H26, K34