Giving And Receiving The Gift Of Higher Education

It’s the time of the year when parents, grandparents, and loved ones burst with pride as they watch the graduating seniors, clad in their mortar boards and robes, cross the stage to receive their high school diplomas. It took everyone working with one goal in mind to reach this pinnacle in their students’ education.

And these joyous events aren’t just for high school students. Don’t forget graduation ceremonies for preschoolers and eighth-graders.

That teamwork can continue by asking for gifts to your 529 college savings plan to support your students’ higher education. Thank them for all of their support of your child and share that a college education or post-secondary vocational training can bring your children more opportunities in life. Your loved ones will want to give a gift that has a lasting impact in your student’s life. Their gift contribution to a 529 college savings account can do just that.

How Others Can Contribute

So when loved ones ask what gifts your soon-to-be high school graduate might like, talk to them about giving a gift to their higher education. A college savings account with Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage, makes it easy. There are a variety of ways to contribute.

The simplest, though, is through Ugift. As the CollegeAdvantage Direct 529 Plan account owner, log in to your account and click on Ugift to receive a unique code for each of your accounts. With this code, loved ones can make online contributions to your Direct 529 plan without needing the actual account number or your child’s Social Security number. Also, the code has no time constraints so they can continue to contribute to the same beneficiary at any time.

If the gift giver prefers to write a check, it needs to be payable to Ohio Tuition Trust Authority and includes the 11-digit account number. Then, you would mail it the check with this form to the listed address on it.

If a loved one would like to make a substantial 529 plan contribution, they can invest up to $15,000 ($30,000 for married couples) per beneficiary without incurring any federal gift-tax consequences. You can even contribute up to $75,000 per beneficiary in a single year ($150,000 for married couples) and take advantage of five years’ worth of tax-free gifts at one time. For more information, please have them consult their tax adviser or estate-planning attorney.

Tax Benefit for Ohio Gift Givers To Ohio’s 529 Plan

As the 529 account owner, you already know that there are tax advantages for saving for college in Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage, such as tax-free earnings and tax-free withdrawals for qualified higher education expenses. Ohio residents are eligible to deduct up to $4,000 of their CollegeAdvantage contributions per beneficiary, per year, from their state taxable income. However, they can contribute even more! Contributions over $4,000 per beneficiary, per year, can be carried forward to deduct from future tax years until all of their contributions are fully subtracted from their state taxable income.

This tax deduction is also available to any Ohio resident who makes a contribution to Ohio’s 529 Plan. So, let your loved ones who are Ohio residents know that their gifts made directly to your child’s CollegeAdvantage account can be deduced their Ohio state taxable income.

Loved ones want to support your child now and in the future. A gift contribution to their college savings account is a great way to do so. If you haven’t stared to save with CollegeAdvantage yet, it’s easy to open an account online. Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage, is your plan, your way.