Publication 590 |
2000 Tax Year |
Withdrawals
The designated beneficiary of an education IRA can take withdrawals
at any time. Whether the withdrawals are tax free depends, in part, on
whether the withdrawals are more than the amount of qualified higher
education expenses (defined earlier) that the beneficiary has in the
tax year.
Withdrawals Not More Than Expenses
Generally, withdrawals are tax free if they are not more than the
beneficiary's qualified higher education expenses for the tax year.
Withdrawals More Than Expenses
Generally, a portion of the withdrawals is taxable to the
beneficiary if the withdrawals are more than the beneficiary's
qualified higher education expenses for the tax year.
The taxable portion is the amount of the withdrawal that represents
earnings that have accumulated tax free in the account. Figure the
taxable portion as shown in the following steps.
- Multiply the amount withdrawn by a fraction. The numerator
is the total contributions in the account and the denominator is the
total balance in the account before the withdrawal(s).
- Subtract the amount figured in (1) from the total amount
withdrawn during the year. This is the amount of earnings included in
the withdrawal(s).
- Multiply the amount of earnings figured in (2) by a
fraction. The numerator is the qualified higher education expenses
paid during the year and the denominator is the total amount withdrawn
during the year.
- Subtract the amount figured in (3) from the amount figured
in (2). This is the amount the beneficiary must include in
income.
Example.
You receive a $600 withdrawal from an education IRA to which $1,000
has been contributed. The balance in the IRA before the withdrawal was
$1,200. You had $450 of qualified higher education expenses for the
year. Using the steps above, you figure the taxable portion of your
withdrawal as follows.
- $600 x ($1,000 x $1,200) = $500
- $600 - $500 = $100
- $100 x ($450 x $600) = $75
- $100 - $75 = $25
You must include $25 in income as withdrawn earnings not used
for the expenses of higher education.
Withdrawal and Deduction or Credit
You generally cannot take a deduction or credit for any educational
expenses that you use as the basis for a tax-free withdrawal from an
education IRA. But see Waiver of tax-free treatment, next.
Waiver of tax-free treatment.
The designated beneficiary can waive the tax-free treatment of the
withdrawal and elect to pay any tax that would otherwise be owed on
the withdrawal. The beneficiary or the beneficiary's parents may then
be eligible to claim a Hope credit or lifetime learning credit for
qualified higher education expenses paid in that tax year.
Additional Tax
Generally, if the beneficiary receives a taxable withdrawal, he or
she also must pay a 10% additional tax on the amount included in
income.
Exceptions.
The 10% additional tax does not apply to withdrawals described in
the following list.
- Paid to a beneficiary (or to the estate of the designated
beneficiary) on or after the death of the designated
beneficiary.
- Made because the designated beneficiary is disabled. A
person is considered to be disabled if he or she shows proof that he
or she cannot do any substantial gainful activity because of his or
her physical or mental condition. A physician must determine that his
or her condition can be expected to result in death or to be of
long-continued and indefinite duration.
- Made because the designated beneficiary received:
- A qualified scholarship excludable from gross income,
- An educational assistance allowance, or
- Payment for the designated beneficiary's educational
expenses that is excludable from gross income under any law of the
United States.
The exception applies only to the extent the withdrawal is not more
than the scholarship, allowance, or payment.
- Included in income only because the beneficiary waived the
tax-free treatment of the withdrawal (as explained earlier).
- A return of an excess contribution (and any earnings on it)
made before the due date of the beneficiary's tax return (including
extensions). If the beneficiary does not have to file a return, the
excess (and any earnings) must be withdrawn by April 15 of the year
following the year of the contribution. The beneficiary must include
in gross income for the year the contribution is made any income
earned on the excess contribution.
When Assets Must Be Withdrawn
Any assets remaining in an education IRA must be withdrawn when
either one of the following two events occurs.
- The designated beneficiary reaches age 30. In this case, the
designated beneficiary must withdraw the remaining assets within 30
days after he or she reaches age 30.
- The designated beneficiary dies before reaching age 30. In
this case, the remaining assets must generally be withdrawn within 30
days after the date of death.
The earnings that accumulated tax free in the account must be
included in taxable income. You determine these earnings as shown in
the following two steps.
- Multiply the amount withdrawn by a fraction. The numerator
is the total contributions in the account and the denominator is the
total balance in the account before the withdrawal(s).
- Subtract the amount figured in (1) from the total amount
withdrawn during the year. The result is the amount of earnings
included in the withdrawal. The person receiving the assets must
include this amount in income.
Exception for transfer to surviving spouse or family member.
If an education IRA is transferred to a surviving spouse or other
family member as the result of the death of the designated
beneficiary, the education IRA retains its status. (For this purpose,
family member was defined earlier under Rollovers.) This
means the spouse or other family member can treat the education IRA as
his or her own. There are no tax consequences as a result of the
transfer.
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