Saving for a college education is one of the most difficult
things for a student and their family. Luckily many businesses,
organizations, and institutions offer helpful plans that assist
in making this task a little easier and a little less
frustrating. One such plan was developed for the staff and
families of colleges in the State of New York. New York's
College Savings Program is designed to help families of all
income levels save for this important goal. It works through
payroll deduction and employees can enroll for as little as $15
per pay period. These deductions are made on an after-tax basis.
The program offers New Yorkers an annual New York State income
tax deduction for contributions of up to $5,000 for individuals
and up to $10,000 for married couples filing jointly. When the
money is used to pay for your beneficiary's qualified higher
education expenses, you will also not have to pay federal or New
York income taxes on earnings. Qualified withdrawals are
completely income tax free. Anyone - parents, grandparents,
uncles, aunts, friends - can establish an account, regardless of
state residence. To get started with payroll deductions you
submit a completed application to the program and ill receive a
confirmation form attesting your enrollment. You then advise
your Payroll department and the deductions start in our next pay
period. The funds that you deposit can be used at eligible
schools anywhere in the country and are not limited to the state
in which you enroll. The funds can be used for educational
expenses, including tuition, fees, supplies, books, and
equipment required for enrollment. Most room and board expenses
are also covered for students enrolled at least half time. You
can and should open account for each child in your family
because each account can only have one designated beneficiary.
You can be the designated beneficiary yourself, but you may
designate anyone. The tax benefits are not contingent on the
beneficiary being a family member of the account owner. Even if
you move out of state you may keep contributing money to the
account and continue to enjoy the benefits of federal and New
York State tax-deferred growth. Check and see if your employer,
institution, association or union has a similar education
savings program that you can apply to join. It will make saving
for a college education much easier and a lot less frustrating
for everyone involved.
About the author:
This article courtesy of http://www.university-phoe
nix.com
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