College Gifting

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Give a Child the Gift of College

Save in a SMART529 Select college savings account for the child in your life. Open an account today or contribute to an existing account. Toys come and go, but a college education lasts forever.

  • Tax-deferred accumulation - Earnings in your SMART529 account can accumulate tax deferred.1
  • Tax-free withdrawals - Withdrawals for qualified higher education expenses are free from Federal and West Virginia income taxes.2
  • Annual gifting - Under the current rules, up to $17,000 per account beneficiary ($34,000 per married couple) per year may be contributed free of federal gift taxes.3
  • Accelerated gifting - In any year during which your 529 contributions for a particular beneficiary exceed $17,000, you may make an election on Form 709 to spread the contributions ratably over five years (20% per year) for gift-tax purposes. This permits frontloading of up to $85,000 per beneficiary (or $170,000 for a married couple) into a 529 plan without generating a taxable gift, assuming no other gifts to that beneficiary are made during the five calendar-year period. If you make the five-year election and die before the fifth calendar year, the contributions allocated to the years after your death are included in your taxable estate. 1,3,4

    Source: Savingforcollege.com


Ugift®

Ugift lets you invite family and friends to celebrate occasions with the most meaningful gift of all: money towards a college education.

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Payroll Direct Deposit

Automatic payroll direct deposit makes saving for college nearly effortless. Just go online, sign up, print out the payroll direct deposit form, and bring it to your payroll department. Your employer must be able to support this feature.

 

1Lifetime savings maximum of $550,000 per child (Effective April 1, 2022).

2Non-qualified withdrawals are taxable as ordinary income to the extent of earnings and may also be subject to a 10% federal income tax penalty. Such withdrawals may have state income tax implications.

3Any additional gifts to the same Designated Beneficiary in that five-year period would be subject to federal gift tax.

4If the donor elects to treat a gift as being made over five years, and the donor dies prior to the end of the five-year period, the portion of the gift allocatable to the period after the donor’s death will be included in the owner’s estate. Please consult your tax professional for more information.

 

Ugift is a registered service mark of Ascensus Broker Dealer Services, Inc.

 

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