us internal revenue service: p970--1999

8/14/2019 US Internal Revenue Service: p970--1999

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ContentsImportant Changes ............................................ 1

Introduction ........................................................ 1

Education Tax Credits ....................................... 2Rules That Apply to Both Credits .................... 2Income Phaseout ............................................. 4

Hope Credit ...................................................... 5Lifetime Learning Credit .................................. 5Choosing Which Credit To Claim .................... 6How To Claim the Credits ............................... 6

Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA)Provisions .................................................... 6

Education IRA .................................................. 6Withdrawals From Traditional or Roth IRAs .... 11

Student Loans .................................................... 12Interest Deduction ............................................ 12Cancellation of Loan ........................................ 13

State Tuition Programs ..................................... 14Education Savings Bonds ................................. 14

Employer-Provided Educational Assistance ... 15

How To Get More Information .......................... 16

Index .................................................................... 18

Important Changes

Tax from recapture of education credits. You may

owe this tax if you claimed an education credit on your1998 tax return and, in 1999, you, your spouse if filingjointly, or your dependent received a refund of qualifiedtuition and related expenses, or tax-free educationalassistance. See Recapture of creditunder No doublebenefit allowed.

Photographs of missing children. The Internal Rev-enue Service is a proud partner with the National Cen-ter for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs ofmissing children selected by the Center may appear inthis publication on pages that would otherwise be blank.You can help bring these children home by looking atthe photographs and calling 1800THELOST

(18008435678) if you recognize a child.

IntroductionThis publication explains the tax benefits for personswho are saving for or paying higher education costs forthemselves and members of their families. It covers thefollowing topics.

The Hope credit and the lifetime learning credit.

Education individual retirement accounts (educationIRAs).

Department of the TreasuryInternal Revenue Service

Publication 970Cat. No. 25221V

Tax Benefitsfor HigherEducation

For use in preparing

1999 Returns

Get forms and other information faster and easier by:COMPUTER

World Wide Web www.irs.ustreas.gov FTP ftp.irs.ustreas.gov IRIS at FedWorld (703) 321-8020

FAX From your FAX machine, dial (703) 368-9694See How To Get More Information in this publication.


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Withdrawals from traditional or Roth IRAs for thecosts of higher education.

Interest paid on certain student loans.

The cancellation of certain student loans.

Qualified state tuition programs.

Savings bond interest used to pay the costs ofhigher education.

Employer-provided educational assistance benefits.

Table 1 gives you a general comparison of somefeatures of the different benefits. You may find it helpfulin determining the benefits for which you are eligible.

This publication does not cover the itemized de-duction you may be able to claim for work-related edu-cational expenses. Information on that deduction canbe found in Publication 508, Tax Benefits for Work-Related Education. This publication also does not coverscholarships that you may be able to exclude from yourincome. Information on scholarships can be found inPublication 520, Scholarships and Fellowships.

TIPYou may be able to reduce the amount of yourfederal income tax withholding throughout theyear based on your estimated tax benefits for

higher education. After you figure the amount of yourestimated 2000 income, exclusions, deductions, andcredit(s), see Publication 919, How Do I Adjust My TaxWithholding?

Caution. You should check your withholding againduring the year if there are changes to your personalor financial situation that would affect your expected2000 tax liability, including your allowable higher edu-cation tax benefits.

Useful ItemsYou may want to see:

Publication

508 Tax Benefits for Work-Related Education

520 Scholarships and Fellowships

525 Taxable and Nontaxable Income

550 Investment Income and Expenses

590 Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)(Including Roth IRAs and Education IRAs)

Form (and Instructions)

8815 Exclusion of Interest From Series EE and IU.S. Savings Bonds Issued After 1989

8863 Education Credits (Hope and LifetimeLearning Credits)

See How To Get More Information, near the end ofthis publication, for information about getting thesepublications and forms.

Education Tax CreditsThe following two tax credits are available to personswho pay higher education costs.

The Hope credit.

The lifetime learning credit.

Rules that apply to both credits are explained first, fol-lowed by explanations of rules that apply to each credit,choosing which credit to claim, and how to claim yourcredits. The last section includes an illustrated Form8863.

CAUTION

!If a student receives a tax-free withdrawal froman education IRA in a particular tax year, noneof that student's expenses can be used as the

basis of a higher education credit for that tax year.However, the student can waive the tax-free treatment.SeeEducation IRA, later.

Rules That Apply to Both CreditsThe amount of each credit is determined by the amountyou pay for qualified tuition and related expenses forstudents and the amount of your modified adjustedgross income. Education credits are subtracted fromyour tax but they are nonrefundable. This means if thecredits are more than your tax, the excess is not re-funded to you.

CAUTION

!If you are married filing separately, you cannotclaim the higher education credits.

What expenses qualify. The credits are based on

qualified tuition and related expenses you pay foryourself, your spouse, or a dependent for whom youclaim an exemption on your tax return. The credits areallowed for qualified tuition and related expenses paidfor an academic period beginning in the same year asthe year the payment is made (but see Prepaid ex-penses, later).

In general, qualified tuition and related expenses aretuition and fees required for enrollment or attendanceat an eligible educational institution. Student-activityfees and fees for course-related books, supplies, andequipment are included in qualified tuition and relatedexpenses only ifthe fees must be paid to the institu-tionas a condition of enrollment or attendance.

Prepaid expenses. If you pay qualified tuition andrelated expenses for an academic period that begins inthe first three months of the following year, you can usethe prepaid amount in figuring your credit.

For example, if you paid $2,000 in December 1999for qualified tuition for the winter 2000 semester begin-ning in January 2000, you can use that $2,000 in fig-uring your 1999 credit.

Payments with borrowed funds. You claim aneducation credit for the qualified tuition and related ex-penses paid with the proceeds of a loan. The credit isclaimed in the year in which the expenses are paid, notin the year in which the loan is repaid.

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Table 1. Highlights of Tax Benefits for Higher EducationDo not rely on this chart alone. It provides only general highlights of some of the differences among thebenefits covered in this publication. See the text for definitions of terms and for more completeexplanations.

What isyourbenefit?

2

What istheannuallimit?

Whatexpensesqualify

besidestuitionandrequiredenrollmentfees?

2

Whateducationqualifies?

What

otherconditionsapply?

Caution:No double benefits are allowed. See the footnotes.

At what

incomerange dobenefitsphaseout?

Hopecredit

(Educa-tion credit)

Lifetimelearning

credit(Educa-

tion credit)

EducationIRA

1Traditionaland Roth

IRAs1

InterestPaid onStudentLoans

QualifiedState

TuitionPrograms

QualifiedU.S.

SavingsBonds

1

EmployersEducationalAssistanceProgram

1

Tax credit(nonrefundable)

Withdrawalsare tax

free

No 10%additional

tax on earlywithdrawal

Deductionto arrive atadjusted

gross income

Prepayfuturetuition

expenses

Interest isexcludable

fromincome

Employerbenefits areexcludable

from income

Up to$1,500

perstudent

Up to$1,000

per family

$500contribution

per childunder 18

Amountof

qualifyingexpenses

1999: $1,5002000: $2,0002001: $2,500

None Amountof

qualifyingexpenses

$5,250

N/A Books,supplies, &equipment;

Room andboard if atleast half-time atten-

dance;Paymentsto qualifiedstate tuition

program

Books,supplies, &equipment;

Room &board if atleast

half-timeattendance


Room &board;Trans-

portation;Other

necessaryexpenses


Room &board if atleast

half-timeattendance

Paymentsto qualified

state

tuitionprograms;Payments

toeducation

IRAs

Books,supplies, &equipment

1st 2years ofunder-

graduate

All undergraduate and graduate levels Under-graduate

level

Can be

claimedonly for 2

years;Must be

enrolled atleast half-time in adegree

program

Applies to

expensespaidand

for schoolattendanceafter June30, 1998

Contribu-

tions notdeductible;Cannot alsocontributeto qualifiedstate tuitionprogram or

claim aneducation

credit; Mustwithdrawassets atage 30

Applies to

the 1st 60monthsinterest;Must be

enrolled atleast half-time in adegree

program

Tax-

deferredearningsare taxed

tobeneficiary

whenwithdrawn

Applies

only toqualifiedseries EE

bondsissued

after 1989or series I

bonds

Cannot

also claiman

educationcredit;

Expires forcourses

beginningafter

December31, 2001

$40,000$50,000

$80,000$100,000 for joint returns

$95,000

$110,000;$150,000$160,000for jointreturns

$40,000

$55,000;$60,000$75,000 for

joint returns

1999:

$53,100$68,100;$79,650$109,650for jointreturns

1Any nontaxable withdrawal is limited to the amount that does not exceed qualifying educational expenses.

2You must generally reduce qualifying educational expenses by any tax-free income. You generally cannot use the same educationalexpense for figuring more than one benefit.

Must

receiveentire

balance orbegin

receivingwithdrawalsby April 1

of yearfollowingyear in

which age7012 is

reached

N/A N/A N/A

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What expenses do not qualify. Qualified tuition andrelated expenses do not include the cost of insurance,medical expenses (including student health fees), roomand board, transportation or similar personal, living orfamily expenses, even if the fee must be paid to theinstitution as a condition of enrollment or attendance.

Qualified tuition and related expenses generally donot include expenses that relate to any course of in-struction or other education that involves sports, games,or hobbies, or any noncredit course. However, if the

course of instruction or other education is part of thestudent's degree program or, in the case of the lifetimelearning credit, is taken by the student to acquire orimprove job skills, these expenses can qualify.

Dependent for whom you claim an exemption. Youclaim an exemption for a dependent if you list thatperson in the Exemptionssection of your tax return.

Eligible educational institution. An eligible educa-tional institution is any college, university, vocationalschool, or other postsecondary educational institutioneligible to participate in a student aid program admin-

istered by the Department of Education. It includes vir-tually all accredited, public, nonprofit, and proprietary(privately owned profit-making) postsecondary insti-tutions. The educational institution should be able to tellyou if it is an eligible educational institution.

Academic period. An academic period includes asemester, trimester, quarter, or other period of study(such as a summer school session) as reasonably de-termined by an educational institution.

No double benefit allowed. If you take a deductionfor higher education expenses on your tax return, youcannot claim a credit for those same expenses.

Adjustments to qualified expenses. If you payhigher education expenses with certain tax-freefunds,you cannot claim a credit for those amounts. You mustreduce the qualified expenses by the amount of anytax-free educational assistance. Tax-free educationalassistance could include scholarships, Pell grants, em-ployer-provided educational assistance, veterans' edu-cational assistance, and any other nontaxable pay-ments (other than gifts, bequests, or inheritances)received for educational expenses. Do not reduce thequalified expenses by amounts paid with the student'searnings, loans, gifts, inheritances, and personalsavings. Also, do not reduce the qualified expenses byany scholarship reported as income on the student's

return or any scholarship which, by its terms, cannotbe applied to qualified tuition and related expenses.

Refunds. Qualified tuition and related expenses donot include expenses that are refunded. If you receivea refund in the same year in which you paid the ex-penses, or in the following year, but before you file yourtax return for the year you paid them, simply reduce theamount of the expenses by the amount of the refundreceived. If you receive the refund after you file your taxreturn, see Recapture of credit, next.

Recapture of credit. If, after you file your tax return,you receive tax-free educational assistance for, or arefund of, an expense you used to figure a higher ed-

ucation credit on that return, you may have to recaptureall or part of the credit. You must refigure your educa-tion credits as if the assistance or refund was receivedin the year the expenses were paid. Include the dif-ference, if any, on your return for the year in which theassistance or refund was received. Include it on line 40of your Form 1040 (line 25 of Form 1040A). Next to theline, enter the amount and ECR.

Who can claim the credit. If there are higher educationcosts for your dependent child, either you or your child,but not both of you, can claim a credit for a particularyear. If you claim an exemption for your child on yourtax return, only you can claim a credit. If you do notclaim an exemption for your child on your tax return,only your child can claim a credit.

Expenses paid by others. If someone other thanyou, your spouse, or your dependent (such as a relativeor former spouse) makes a payment directly to an eli-gible educational institution to pay for a student's qual-ified tuition and related expenses, the student is treatedas receiving the payment from the other person. Thestudent is treated as paying the qualified tuition andrelated expenses to the institution.

Example. Ms. Allen makes a payment directly toan eligible educational institution in 1999 for hergrandson's qualified tuition and related expenses. Forpurposes of claiming an education credit, the grandsonis treated as receiving the money from Ms. Allen and,in turn, paying his qualified tuition and related ex-penses.

Expenses paid by dependent. If you claim an ex-emption for your child on your tax return, treat any ex-penses paid by your child as if you had paid them. In-clude these expenses when figuring the amount of yourHope or lifetime learning credit.

TIP

Qualified tuition and related expenses paid di-rectly to an eligible educational institution foryour dependent under a court-approved divorce

decree are treated as paid by your dependent.

Income PhaseoutYour education credits are phased out (gradually re-duced) if your modified adjusted gross income is be-tween $40,000 and $50,000 ($80,000 and $100,000 inthe case of a joint return).

CAUTION!

You cannot claimany higher education credits

if your modified adjusted gross income is$50,000 or more ($100,000 or more in the caseof a joint return).

Modified adjusted gross income. For most taxpayers,modified adjusted gross income will be their adjustedgross income (AGI) as figured on their federal incometax return. However, you must make adjustments toyour AGI if you excluded income earned abroad or fromcertain U.S. territories or possessions. If this applies toyou, increase your AGI by the following amounts youexcluded from your income.

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1) Foreign earned income of U.S. citizens or residentsliving abroad.

2) Housing costs of U.S. citizens or residents livingabroad.

3) Income from sources within Puerto Rico, Guam,American Samoa, or the Northern Mariana Islands.

How the phaseout works. The phaseout (reduction)works on a sliding scale. The higher your modified ad-

justed gross income, the more your credits are reduced.You figure the reduction, if any, in Part III of Form 8863.

Hope CreditYou may be able to claim a Hope credit of up to $1,500for qualified tuition and related expenses paid for eacheligible student. You can take into account expensespaid in 1999 for academic periods beginning after De-cember 31, 1998, and before April 1, 2000. The creditcan be claimed for only 2 years for each eligible stu-dent.

Eligible student for the Hope credit. For purposes

of the Hope credit, an eligible student is a student whomeets all of the following requirements.

1) Has not completed the first 2 yearsof postsec-ondary education (generally, the freshman andsophomore years of college) as of the beginningof the year.

2) Is enrolled in a program that leads to a degree,certificate, or other recognized educational creden-tial for at least one academic period beginningduring the year.

3) Is taking at least half of the normal full-time workloadfor his or her course of study for at least one

academic period beginning during the calendaryear.

4) Is free of any federal or state felony conviction forpossessing or distributing a controlled substanceas of the end of the year.

Completion of first 2 years. A student awarded 2years of academic credit for postsecondary work com-pleted prior to the beginning of the year has completedthe first 2 years of postsecondary education.

Any academic credit awarded solely on the basis ofthe student's performance on proficiency examinationsis disregarded in determining whether the student hascompleted 2 years of postsecondary education.

Half of normal full-time workload. The standardfor what is half of the normal full-time work load is de-termined by each eligible educational institution. How-ever, the standard may not be lower than standards forhalf-time established by the Department of Educationunder the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Amount of credit. The amount of the Hope credit is100% of the first $1,000 plus50% of the next $1,000of qualified tuition and related expenses you pay foreach eligible student. The maximum amount of Hopecredit you can claim in 1999 is $1,500 times the numberof eligible students. You can claim the full $1,500 for

each eligible student for whom you pay at least $2,000for qualified expenses. However, the credit may be re-duced based on your modified adjusted gross income.See Income Phaseout, earlier.

Example. Jon and Karen are married and file a jointtax return. For 1999, they claim an exemption for theirdependent daughter on their tax return and their modi-fied adjusted gross income is $70,000. Their daughteris in her sophomore (second) year of studies at the local

university and Jon and Karen pay $4,300 in 1999 forher tuition costs.Jon and Karen, their daughter, and the local univer-

sity meet all of the requirements for the Hope credit.Jon and Karen can claim a $1,500 Hope credit in 1999.This is the maximum amount allowed for 1999.

How to figure the Hope credit. The Hope credit isfigured in Parts I and III of Form 8863. An illustratedexample using Form 8863 appears later.

Lifetime Learning CreditYou may be able to claim a lifetime learning credit of

up to $1,000 for qualified tuition and related expensespaid for allstudents enrolled in eligible educational in-stitutions. You can take into account expenses paid in1999 for academic periods beginning after December31, 1998, and before April 1, 2000.

The lifetime learning credit is different than the Hopecredit in the following ways.

1) The lifetime learning credit is not based on thestudent's work load. It is allowed for one or morecourses.

2) The lifetime learning credit is not limited to studentsin the first 2 years of postsecondary education.

3) Expenses for graduate-level degree work are eligi-ble.

4) Expenses related to a course of instruction or othereducation that involves sports, games, hobbies, orother noncredit courses are eligible ifthey are partof a course of instruction to acquire or improve jobskills.

5) There is no limit on the number of years for whichthe lifetime learning credit can be claimed for eachstudent.

6) The amount you can claim as a lifetime learningcredit does not vary (increase) based on the num-ber of students for whom you pay qualified ex-penses.

Amount of credit. The amount of the lifetime learningcredit is 20% of the first $5,000 of qualified tuition andrelated expenses you pay for all students in the family.The maximum amount of lifetime learning credit youcan claim for 1999 is $1,000 (20% $5,000). However,that amount may be reduced based on your modifiedadjusted gross income. See Income Phaseout, earlier.

Example. Bruce and Toni are married and file a jointtax return. For 1999, their modified adjusted gross in-come is $50,000. Toni is attending the community

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college (an eligible educational institution) to earncredits towards an associate's degree in nursing; shealready has a bachelor's degree in history and wantsto become a nurse. In August 1999, Toni paid $2,000for her fall 1999 semester. Bruce and Toni can claim a$400 (20% $2,000) lifetime learning credit on their1999 joint tax return.

How to figure the lifetime learning credit. The life-time learning credit is figured in Parts II and III of Form

8863. An illustrated example using Form 8863 appearslater.

Choosing Which Credit To ClaimFor each student, you can elect for any tax year onlyoneof the credits ora tax-free withdrawal from an ed-ucation IRA. (See Education IRA, later, for more infor-mation.) For example, if you elect to take the Hopecredit for a child on your 1999 tax return, you cannot,for that same child, also claim the lifetime learning creditfor 1999 or take a tax-free withdrawal from an educationIRA for 1999.

Lifetime learning credit after Hope credit. You canclaim the Hope credit for the first 2 years of a student'spostsecondary education and claim the lifetime learningcredit for that same student in later tax years.

More than one student. If you pay qualified expensesfor more than one student in the same year, you canchoose to take credits on a per-student, per-year basis.This means that, for example, you can claim the Hopecredit for one student and the lifetime learning credit foranother student in the same tax year.

How To Claim the Credits

You elect to claim education credits and you figure theiramount by completing Form 8863. Use Part I for theHope credit and Part II for the lifetime learning credit.In both parts, you enter the student's name and tax-payer identification number (usually a social securitynumber) and the amount of qualified expenses paid in1999. You then complete Part III to compute the amountto enter on line 44 of Form 1040 or line 29 of Form1040A. Attach the completed Form 8863 to your return.

An eligible educational institution (such as a collegeor university) that receives payment of qualified tuitionand related expenses generally must issue Form1098T, Tuition Payments Statement, to each studentby February 1, 2000. The information on Form 1098T

will help you determine whether you can claim an edu-cation tax credit for 1999. The following informationshould be included on the 1999 form.

1) The name, address, and taxpayer identificationnumber of the educational institution.

2) The name, address, and taxpayer identificationnumber of the student.

3) Whether the student was enrolled for at least halfof the full-time academic workload.

4) Whether the student was enrolled exclusively in agraduate-level program.

The eligible educational institution may ask for a com-pleted Form W9S, Request for Student's or Borrow-er's Social Security Number and Certification, or similarstatement, to obtain the information needed to complete(2) above.

Illustrated ExampleDave and Valerie are married and file a joint tax return.For 1999, they claim exemptions for their two depend-

ent children on their tax return, and their modified adjusted gross income is $72,000. Their son, Sean, willreceive his bachelor's degree in psychology from thestate college in May 2000. Their daughter, Corey, en-rolled full-time at that same college in August 1998 tobegin working on her bachelor's degree in physical ed-ucation. In December 1998, Dave and Valerie paid$2,000 for each child's tuition for the winter 1999 se-mester. In July 1999, they paid $2,200 in tuition costsfor each of them for the fall 1999 semester.

Dave and Valerie, their children, and the collegemeet all of the requirements for the higher educationcredits. Because Sean is beyond the second(sophomore) year of his postsecondary education, his

expenses do not qualify for the Hope credit. But,amounts paid for Sean's expenses in 1999 for aca-demic periods beginning after 1998 and before April 1,2000, qualify for the lifetime learning credit. Corey is inher first two (freshman and sophomore) years of post-secondary education and expenses paid for her in 1999for academic periods beginning after 1998 and beforeApril 1, 2000, qualify for the Hope credit.

Dave and Valerie figure their total higher educationcredits for 1999, $1,940, as shown in the completedForm 8863. They can claim the full amount becausetheir modified adjusted gross income is not more than$80,000. They carry the amount from line 18 of Form8863 to line 44 of Form 1040, and they attach the Form

8863 to their return.

Individual RetirementArrangement (IRA) ProvisionsYou may be able to establish an education individualretirement account (education IRA or Ed IRA) to financea child's qualified higher education expenses. In addi-tion, you may be able to take withdrawals from otherIRAs without paying the 10% additional tax on earlywithdrawals if you pay for qualified higher educationexpenses. Publication 590 has detailed information on

all IRA accounts.

Education IRAYou may be able to contribute up to $500 cash eachyear to an education IRA for a child under age 18.Contributions to an education IRA are not deductible,but amounts deposited in the account grow tax free untilwithdrawn.

Any individual (including the child) can contribute toa child's education IRA if his or her income is below acertain amount. There is no limit on the number of ed-ucation IRAs that can be established designating a child

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Proof

asof

Novem

ber29

,1999

(subject

tocha

nge)

Dave and Valerie Jones 98 7 0 0 6 543

Corey, Jones137 0 0 96 42 2,0 0 0 1,0 0 0 1,0 0 0 50 0

1,0 0 0 50 0

1,50 0

Sean Jones 246 0 0 9731 2,20 0

2,2002,200

440

1,940

10 0 ,0 0 0

72,000

28,000

20,000

1,940

9,475

0

9,475

1,940

OMB No. 1545-1618Education CreditsForm 8863

See instructions on pages 3 and 4.Department of the TreasuryInternal Revenue Service

AttachmentSequence No. 51

Your social security numberName(s) shown on return

Hope Credit

1

2

3

Lifetime Learning Credit

Form 8863 (1999)

Part I

Part II

3

(a) Students name

Cat. No. 25379M

Add the amounts in columns (d) and (f)

Add the amounts on line 2, columns (d) and (f)

8

Add the amounts on line 4, column (c), and enter the total

99

Enter the smaller of line 5 or $5,000

10

Subtract line 10 from line 9. If line 10 is greater than or equal toline 9, stop; you cannot take any education credits

10

12

16

17

4

1111

15

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see page 4.

First, Last

(f) Enter one-halfof the amount in

column (e)

(e) Subtractcolumn (d) from

column (c)

(d) Enter thesmaller of the

amount incolumn (c) or

$1,000

(c) Qualifiedexpenses(but do not

enter more than$2,000 for each

student). Seeinstructions

2

Caution: Youcannot take theHope credit andthe lifetime learningcredit for the samestudent.

(a) Student s name

First Last

(c) Qualifiedexpenses. See

instructions

Multiply line 6 by 20% (.20)

56

7

5

6

7

Part III Allowable Education Credits

Add lines 3 and 78

Enter: $100,000 if married filing jointly; $50,000 if single, head ofhousehold, or qualifying widow(er)Enter the amount from Form 1040, line 34 (or Form 1040A, line 19)*

If line 11 is greater than or equal to line 12, enter the amount from line 8 on line 14 andgo to line 15. If line 11 is less than line 12, divide line 11 by line 12. Enter the result asa decimal (rounded to at least three places)

13

Multiply line 8 by line 13 14Enter your tax from Form 1040, line 40 (or Form 1040A, line 25)15

Enter the total, if any, of your credits from Form 1040, lines 41 and 42 (or fromForm 1040A, lines 26 and 27)

16

Subtract line 16 from line 15. If line 16 is greater than or equal to line 15, stop; youcannot take any education credits

17

18 Education credits. Enter the smaller of line 14 or line 17 here and on Form 1040,line 44 (or Form 1040A, line 29) 18

14

13 .

(Hope and Lifetime Learning Credits)

(b) Studentssocial security

number

(b) Studentssocial security

number

Enter: $20,000 if married filing jointly; $10,000 if single, head ofhousehold, or qualifying widow(er) 12

*See Pub. 970 for the amount to enter if you are filing Form 2555, 2555-EZ, or 4563, or you are excluding income from Puerto Rico.

Attach to Form 1040 or Form 1040A.

1999

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as the beneficiary. However, total contributions for thechild during any tax year cannot be more than $500.See Contributions, later.

If, for a year, withdrawals from an account are notmore than a child's qualified higher education expensesat an eligible educational institution, the child will notowe tax on the withdrawals. See Withdrawals, later.

Education IRAs At a GlanceDo not rely on this chart alone. It provides onlygeneral highlights. See the text for definitions of termsin bold type and for more complete explanations.

Question

An IRA that is set up topay the qualified highereducation expenses ofa designated beneficiary.

What is an educationIRA?

It can be opened in theUnited States at any

bank or otherIRS-approved entity thatoffers education IRAs.

Where can it beestablished?

Any child who is underage 18.

Who can an educationIRA be set up for?

Who can contribute toan education IRA?

Answer

Generally, any individual(including the beneficiary)whose modifiedadjusted gross incomefor the year is less than$110,000 ($160,000 inthe case of a joint

return).

What Is an Education IRA?An education IRA is a trust or custodial account createdonly for the purpose of paying the qualified higher ed-ucation expenses (defined later) of the designatedbeneficiary of the account. When the account is estab-lished, the designated beneficiary must be a child underage 18. To be treated as an education IRA, the accountmust be designated as an education IRA when it iscreated.

Account requirements. The document creating andgoverning the account must be in writing and mustsatisfy the following requirements.

1) The account must be created or organized in theUnited States.

2) The trustee or custodian must be a bank or an entityapproved by the IRS.

3) The document must provide that the trustee orcustodian can only accept a contribution that meetsall of the following conditions.

a) Is in cash.

b) Is made before the beneficiary reaches age 18.

c) Would not result in total contributions for the taxyear (not including rollover contributions) beingmore than $500.

4) Money in the account cannot be invested in life in-surance contracts.

5) Money in the account cannot be combined withother property except in a common trust fund or

common investment fund.6) The balance in the account generally must be

withdrawn within 30 days after the earlier of thefollowing events.

a) The beneficiary reaches age 30.

b) The beneficiary's death.

See When assets must be withdrawn, later.

Designated beneficiary. The individual named in thedocument creating the trust or custodial account to re-ceive the benefit of the funds in the account is thedesignated beneficiary.

Qualified higher education expenses. These areexpenses required for the enrollment or attendance ofthe designated beneficiary at an eligible educationalinstitution. They include the following items.

1) Tuition and fees.

2) The cost of books, supplies, and equipment.

3) Amounts contributed to a qualified state tuitionprogram. (See State Tuition Programs, later.)

4) The cost of room and board if the designated ben-eficiary is at least a half-time student at an eligible

educational institution.The term eligible educational institutionwas definedearlier under Rules That Apply to Both Credits for theeducation credits. A student is enrolled at least half-time if he or she is enrolled for at least half the full-timeacademic work load for the course of study the studentis pursuing as determined under the standards of theschool where the student is enrolled.

For purposes of item (4) above, the expense forroom and board is limited to one of the following twoamounts.

1) The school's posted room and board charge forstudents living on campus.

2) $2,500 each year for students living off campus andnot at home.

ContributionsAny individual (including the child for whose benefit theaccount is established) can contribute to a child's edu-cation IRA if the individual's modified adjusted grossincome(defined earlier under Income Phaseoutfor theeducation credits) for the tax year is less than $110,000($160,000 in the case of a joint return). Contributionsmust be in cash, and you cannot contribute to an edu-cation IRA after the beneficiary reaches age 18.

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Contributions can be made to one or several edu-cation IRAs for the same child provided that the totalcontributions are not more than the contribution limit(defined later) for a tax year.

Education IRA Contributions At a Glance

Do not rely on this chart alone. It provides onlygeneral highlights. See the text for definitions of termsin bold type and for more complete explanations.

Question

No.Are contributionsdeductible?

Earnings on the accountgrow tax free untilwithdrawn.

Why should someonecontribute to aneducation IRA?

$500 each year for eachchild.

What is the contributionlimit per child?

What if more than oneeducation IRA has beenopened for the samechild?

Answer

The annual contributionlimit is $500 for eachchild, no matter howmany education IRAs areset up for that child.

No.Can contributions otherthan cash be made to an

education IRA?No contributions can bemade to a childseducation IRA after he orshe reaches age 18.

When must contributionsstop?

The contribution limit is$500 per child, nomatter how manyindividuals contribute.

What if more than oneindividual makescontributions for thesame child?

CAUTION

!No contributions can be made to an educationIRA on behalf of a child if any amount is con-tributed during the tax year to aqualified state

tuition program on behalf of the same child.

Contribution limits. There are two yearly limits, oneon the total amount that can be contributed for eachdesignated beneficiary (child) and one on the amountthat any individual can contribute for any one child fora year.

Limit for each child. The total of all contributionsto all education IRAs set up for the benefit of any onedesignated beneficiary (child) cannot be more than$500 for a year. This includes contributions (other thanrollovers) to all the child's education IRAs from allsources. Rollovers are discussed under Rollovers andOther Tranfers, later.

Limit for each contributor. You can contribute upto $500 for each child for any year. This is the mostyou can contribute for the benefit of any one child forany year, regardless of the number of education IRAsset up for the child. However, this limit may be reducedas explained next.

If your modified adjusted gross income (definedearlier) is between $95,000 and $110,000 (between$150,000 and $160,000 if filing a joint return), the $500limit for each child is gradually reduced (see Figuring

the limit, next). If your modified adjusted gross incomeis $110,000 or more ($160,000 or more if filing a jointreturn), you cannot contribute to anyone's educationIRA.

Figuring the limit. To figure the limit on the amountyou can contribute for each child, multiply $500 by afraction. The numerator (top number) is your modifiedadjusted gross income minus $95,000 ($150,000 if fil inga joint return). The denominator (bottom number) is$15,000 ($10,000 if filing a joint return). Subtract theresult from $500. This is the amount you can contributefor each child.

Example. Paul, a single individual, had modified

adjusted gross income of $96,500 for the year. ForPaul, the maximum contribution for each child is re-duced to $450, figured as follows.

1) $96,500$95,000 = $1,500

2) $1,500 $15,000 = 10%

3) 10% $500 = $50

4) $500$50 = $450

Additional tax on excess contributions. A 6% excisetax applies each year to excess contributions that arein an education IRA at the end of the year. Excesscontributions are the total of the following threeamounts.

1) Contributions to any child's education IRA for theyear that are more than $500 (or, if less, the totalof each contributor's limit for the year, as discussedearlier).

2) All contributions to a child's education IRA for theyear if any amount is also contributed during theyear to a qualified state tuition program on behalfof the same child. However, amounts withdrawnfrom the education IRA to be contributed to thequalified state tuition program are not excess con-tributions.

3) Excess contributions for the preceding year, re-duced by the total of the following two amounts:

a) Withdrawals (other than those rolled over asdiscussed later) made during the year, and

b) The contribution limit for the current year minusthe amount contributed for the current year.

Exceptions. The excise tax does not apply if theexcess contributions (and any earnings on them) arewithdrawn before the due date of the beneficiary's taxreturn (including extensions). If the beneficiary doesnot have to file a return, the tax does not apply if the

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excess contributions (and the earnings) are withdrawnby April 15 of the year following the year the contribu-tions are made. The withdrawn earnings must be in-cluded in the beneficiary's income for the year in whichthe excess contribution is made.

The excise tax also does not apply to any rollovercontribution.

Rollovers and Other Transfers

Assets can be rolled over from one education IRA toanother. The designated beneficiary can be changedand the beneficiary's interest can be transferred to aspouse or former spouse because of divorce.

Rollovers. Any amount withdrawn from an educationIRA and rolled over to another education IRA for thebenefit of the same beneficiary or a member of thebeneficiary's family is not taxable. A rollover to an ed-ucation IRA of a family member is not taxable only ifthat family member is under age 30. An amount is rolledover if it is paid to another education IRA within 60 daysafter the date of the withdrawal.

Members of the beneficiary's family. The benefi-

ciary's spouse and the following individuals (and theirspouses) are members of the beneficiary's family.

The beneficiary's child, grandchild, or stepchild.

A brother, sister, half brother, half sister,stepbrother, or stepsister of the beneficiary.

The father, mother, grandfather, grandmother,stepfather, or stepmother of the beneficiary.

A brother or sister of the beneficiary's father ormother.

A son or daughter of the beneficiary's brother orsister.

The beneficiary's son-in-law, daughter-in-law,father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, orsister-in-law.

CAUTION

!Only one rollover per education IRA is allowedduring the 12-month period ending on the dateof the payment or withdrawal.

Changing the designated beneficiary. The desig-nated beneficiary can be changed to a member of thebeneficiary's family (defined earlier). There are no taxconsequences if, at the time of the change, the newbeneficiary is under age 30.

Transfer because of divorce. If a spouse or formerspouse receives an education IRA under a divorce orseparation instrument, it is not a taxable transfer. Afterthe transfer, the spouse or former spouse treats theeducation IRA as his or her own.

WithdrawalsThe designated beneficiary of an education IRA cantake withdrawals at any time. Whether the withdrawalsare tax free depends, in part, on whether the with-drawals are more than the amount of qualified higher

education expenses (defined earlier) that the benefi-ciary has in the tax year.

Education IRA Withdrawals At a GlanceDo not rely on this chart alone. It provides onlygeneral highlights. See the text for definitions of termsin bold type and for more complete explanations.

Question

Generally, yes, to the

extent the amount of thewithdrawal is not morethan the designatedbeneficiarys qualifiedhigher educationexpenses.

Is a withdrawal from an

education IRA to pay fora designatedbeneficiarys qualifiedhigher educationexpenses tax free?

Yes. Amounts mustbewithdrawn when thedesignated beneficiaryreaches age 30. Also,certain transfers tomembers of thedesignated

beneficiarys family arepermitted.

After the designatedbeneficiary completeshis or her education atan eligible educationalinstitution, may amountsremaining in theeducation IRA be

withdrawn?

No.Does the designatedbeneficiary need to beenrolled for a minimumnumber of courses totake a tax-freewithdrawal?

Answer

Withdrawals not more than expenses. Generally,withdrawals are tax free if they are not more than thebeneficiary's qualified higher education expenses forthe tax year.

Withdrawals more than expenses. Generally, a por-tion of the withdrawals is taxable to the beneficiary if thewithdrawals are more than the beneficiary's qualifiedhigher education expenses for the tax year.

The taxable portion is the amount of the withdrawalthat represents earnings that have accumulated tax freein the account. Figure the taxable portion as shown inthe following steps.

1) Multiply the amount withdrawn by a fraction. Thenumerator is the total contributions in the accountand the denominator is the total balance in the ac-count before the withdrawal(s).

2) Subtract the amount figured in (1) from the totalamount withdrawn during the year. This is theamount of earnings included in the withdrawal(s).

3) Multiply the amount of earnings figured in (2) by afraction. The numerator is the qualified higher ed-ucation expenses paid during the year and the de-nominator is the total amount withdrawn during theyear.

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4) Subtract the amount figured in (3) from the amountfigured in (2). This is the amount the beneficiarymust include in income.

Example. You receive a $600 withdrawal from aneducation 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 educationexpenses for the year. Using the steps above, you fig-ure the taxable portion of your withdrawal as follows.

1) $600 ($1,000 $1,200) = $500

2) $600 $500 = $100

3) $100 ($450 $600) = $75

4) $100 $75 = $25

You must include $25 in income as withdrawn earningsnot used for the expenses of higher education.

CAUTION

!You cannot take a deduction or credit for anyeducational expenses that you use as the basisfor a tax-free withdrawal from an education IRA.

But seeWaiver of tax-free treatment, next.

Waiver of tax-free treatment. The designated benefi-ciary can waive the tax-free treatment of the withdrawaland elect to pay any tax that would otherwise be owedon the withdrawal. The beneficiary or the beneficiary'sparents may then be eligible to claim a Hope credit orlifetime learning credit for qualified higher educationexpenses paid in that tax year. (See Education TaxCredits, earlier, to determine if all of the requirementsfor those credits are met.)

Additional tax. Generally, if the beneficiary receivesa 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 applyto withdrawals described in the following list.

1) Paid to a beneficiary (or to the estate of the desig-nated beneficiary) on or after the death of the des-ignated beneficiary.

2) Made because the designated beneficiary is disa-bled. A person is considered to be disabled if heor she shows proof that he or she cannot do anysubstantial gainful activity because of his or herphysical or mental condition. A physician must de-termine that his or her condition can be expectedto result in death or to be of long-continued andindefinite duration.

3) Made because the designated beneficiary received:

a) A qualified scholarship excludable from grossincome,

b) An educational assistance allowance, or

c) Payment for the designated beneficiary's edu-cational expenses that is excludable from grossincome under any law of the United States.

The exception applies only to the extent thewithdrawal is not more than the scholarship, allow-ance, or payment.

4) Included in income only because the beneficiarywaived the tax-free treatment of the withdrawal (asexplained earlier).

5) A return of an excess contribution (and anyearnings on it) made before the due date of thebeneficiary's tax return (including extensions). If thebeneficiary does not have to file a return, the ex-cess (and any earnings) must be withdrawn by April15 of the year following the year of the contribution.

The beneficiary must include in gross income forthe year the contribution is made any incomeearned on the excess contribution.

When assets must be withdrawn. Any assets re-maining in an education IRA must be withdrawn wheneither one of the following two events occurs.

1) The designated beneficiary reaches age 30. In thiscase, the designated beneficiary must withdraw theremaining assets within 30 days after he or shereaches age 30.

2) The designated beneficiary dies before reaching

age 30. In this case, the remaining assets mustgenerally be withdrawn within 30 days after the dateof death.

The earnings that accumulated tax free in the ac-count must be included in taxable income. You deter-mine these earnings as shown in the following twosteps.

1) Multiply the amount withdrawn by a fraction. Thenumerator is the total contributions in the accountand the denominator is the total balance in the ac-count before the withdrawal(s).

2) Subtract the amount figured in (1) from the totalamount withdrawn during the year. The result is theamount of earnings included in the withdrawal. Thebeneficiary must include this amount in income.

Exception for transfer to surviving spouse orfamily member. If an education IRA is transferred toa surviving spouse or other family member as the resultof the death of the designated beneficiary, the educa-tion IRA retains its status. (For this purpose, familymember was defined earlier under Rollovers.) Thismeans the spouse or other family member can treat theeducation IRA as his or her own. There are no taxconsequences as a result of the transfer.

Withdrawals From Traditional orRoth IRAsYou can make withdrawals from your traditional or RothIRA for qualified higher education expenses. A tradi-tional IRA is an IRA that is not a Roth IRA, SIMPLE IRA,or education IRA. You will owe income tax on at leastpart of the amount withdrawn, but you will not have topay the 10% additional tax on early withdrawals.(Generally, if you make withdrawals from your tradi-tional or Roth IRA before you reach age 591/2, you mustpay a 10% additional tax on the early withdrawal.)

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Withdrawals for higher education expenses. Part(or all) of any withdrawal may not be subject to the 10%additional tax on early withdrawals. The part not subjectto the tax is generally the amount that is not more thanthe qualified higher education expenses (defined later)for the year for education furnished at an eligible edu-cational institution (defined earlier under Rules ThatApply to Both Credits for the education credits). Theeducation must be for you, your spouse, or the childrenor grandchildren of you or your spouse.

When determining the amount of the withdrawal thatis not subject to the 10% additional tax, includequal-ified higher education expenses paid with any of thefollowing funds.

1) An individual's earnings.

2) A loan.

3) A gift.

4) An inheritance given to either the student or theindividual making the withdrawal.

5) Personal savings (including savings from a qualifiedstate tuition program).

Do not includeexpenses paid with any of the followingfunds.

1) Tax-free withdrawals from an education IRA.

2) Tax-free scholarships, such as a Pell grant.

3) Tax-free employer-provided educational assist-ance.

4) Any tax-free payment (other than a gift, bequest,or devise) due to enrollment at an eligible educa-tional institution.

Qualified higher education expenses. Qualified

higher education expenses are tuition, fees, books,supplies, and equipment required for the enrollment orattendance of a student at an eligible educational insti-tution. In addition, if the individual is at least a half-timestudent, room and board are qualified higher educationexpenses.

Student LoansYou may be able to deduct interest you pay on a qual-ified student loan. This applies to loan interest pay-ments due and paid after 1997. And, if a student loanis canceled, you may not have to include any amount

in income.

Interest DeductionYou may be able to deduct interest you pay on a qual-ified student loan even if you took out the loan before1999. Regardless of when you took out the loan, youcan deduct only interest paid during the first 60monthsthat interest payments are required.

Example. You took out a qualified student loan in1992. You made a payment on the loan every month,as required, beginning October 1, 1994. You can de-duct the interest on your first nine payments for 1999.

You cannot deduct the interest on any later paymentsbecause they are after the 60-month period (October1, 1994September 30, 1999).

Your interest deduction for 1999 cannot be morethan $1,500 and is subject to the limit described later.

Include as interest. Loan origination fees (other thanfees for services) and capitalized interest are deductibleas student loan interest if all other requirements aremet.

Capitalized interest is accrued and unpaid intereston a qualified student loan that is capitalized by thelender and added to the outstanding principal balanceof the loan.

Claiming the deduction. This deduction is an adjust-ment to income, so you can claim it even if you do notitemize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040). Com-plete the worksheet in your form instructions and enterthe allowable amount on line 24 of Form 1040 or line16 of Form 1040A.

TIP

If you pay more than $600 in interest during theyear to a single lender, you should receive a

statement at the end of the year from the lendershowing the amount of interest. That information willhelp you complete your tax forms.

Persons not eligible. You cannot claim the de-duction in any tax year in which:

1) Your filing status is married filing a separate return,or

2) You are a dependent for whom an exemption isclaimed on the tax return of another taxpayer.

Qualified student loan. This is a loan you took out

solely to pay qualified higher education expenses. Theexpenses must have been:

1) For you, your spouse, or a person who was yourdependent when you took out the loan,

2) Paid or incurred within a reasonable time before orafter you took out the loan, and

3) For education furnished during a period when therecipient of the education was an eligible student.

Qualified higher education expenses. These ex-penses are the costs of attending an eligible educa-tional institution, including graduate school. Generally,

these costs include tuition, fees, room and board,books, equipment, and other necessary expenses, suchas transportation. But you must reduce these costs bythe following items.

1) Nontaxable employer-provided educational assist-ance benefits.

2) Nontaxable withdrawals from an education IRA.

3) U.S. savings bond interest that is nontaxable be-cause you paid qualified higher education ex-penses.

4) Qualified scholarships that are nontaxable.

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5) Veterans' educational assistance benefits.

6) Any other nontaxable payments (other than gifts,bequests, or inheritances) received for educationalexpenses.

Eligible educational institution. The term eligibleeducational institution generally has the same meaningas defined earlier under Rules That Apply to BothCredits for the education credits. For purposes of thestudent loan interest deduction, the term also includesan institution conducting an internship or residencyprogram leading to a degree or certificate from an in-stitution of higher education, a hospital, or a health carefacility that offers postgraduate training.

Eligible student. An eligible student is one who:

1) Is enrolled in a degree, certificate, or other program(including a program of study abroad that is ap-proved for credit by the institution at which the stu-dent is enrolled) leading to a recognized educa-tional credential at an eligible educationalinstitution, and

2) Is carrying at least one-half the normal full-time

work load for the course of study the student ispursuing.

Loan from related person. You cannot deduct in-terest on a loan you get from a related person. Relatedpersons include your brothers and sisters, half brothersand half sisters, spouse, ancestors (parents, grand-parents, etc.), and lineal descendants (children, grand-children, etc.). Related persons also include certaincorporations, partnerships, trusts, and exempt organ-izations.

Loan from employer plan. You cannot deduct in-terest on a loan made under a qualified employer planor under a contract purchased under such a plan.

Refinanced loan. If you refinance a qualified stu-dent loan, the new loan can also be a qualified studentloan. But refinancing a loan does not extend the60-month period described earlier. The 60-month pe-riod is based on the original loan.

Maximum deduction. Your deduction for 1999 cannotbe more than $1,500. This limit increases to $2,000 for2000, and $2,500 for 2001 and later years.

Limit on deduction. Your deduction may be limited,depending on the amount of your modified adjustedgross income. This limit applies if your modified ad-

justed gross income is more than $40,000 ($60,000 inthe case of a joint return).

If your modified adjusted gross income is $55,000or more ($75,000 or more in the case of a joint return),you cannot claim a deduction.

Modified adjusted gross income. For purposes ofthis deduction, modified adjusted gross income meansAGI figured on your income tax return before this de-duction for student loan interest and modified by addingback any of the following items you excluded or de-ducted from your income.

1) Foreign earned income of U.S. citizens or residentsliving abroad.

2) Housing costs of U.S. citizens or residents livingabroad.

3) Income from sources within Puerto Rico, AmericanSamoa, Guam, or the Northern Mariana Islands.

Figuring the limit. To figure the limit, multiply yourdeduction (before the limit) by a fraction. The numeratoris your modified adjusted gross income minus $40,000($60,000 in the case of a joint return). The denominator

is $15,000. Subtract the result from your deduction(before the limit). This result is the amount you candeduct.

Example 1. During 1999 you paid $900 interest ona qualified student loan. Your 1999 modified adjustedgross income is $70,000 and you are filing a joint return.You must reduce your deduction (before the limit) by$600, figured as follows.

$70,000 - $60,000

$15,000$900 $600 =

You can deduct $300 ($900 $600).

Example 2. The facts are the same as in Example1 except that you paid $1,600 interest. Your maximumdeduction for 1999 is $1,500. You must reduce yourmaximum deduction by $1,000, figured as follows.

$70,000 - $60,000

$15,000$1,500 $1000 =

You can deduct $500 ($1,500 $1,000).

CAUTION

!You cannot deduct as interest on a student loanany amount you can deduct under any otherprovision of the tax law (for example, as home

mortgage interest).

Cancellation of LoanForgiveness of a student loan in return for certaincommunity service is tax free.

Qualifying loans. To qualify for tax-free treatment,your student loan must contain a provision that all orpart of the debt will be canceled if you work for a certainperiod of time in certain professions for any of a broadclass of employers. You do not have income if yourstudent loan is later canceled because you agreed tothis provision and performed the services required.

The loan must have been made by one of the fol-lowing.

1) The government federal, state, or local, or aninstrumentality, agency, or subdivision thereof.

2) A tax-exempt public benefit corporation that hasassumed control of a state, county, or municipalhospital, and whose employees are consideredpublic employees under state law.

3) An educational institution if the loan is made:

a) Under an agreement with an entity describedin (1) or (2) that provided the funds to the edu-cational institution to make the loan, or

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b) Under a program of the educational institutionthat is designed to encourage students to servein occupations or areas with unmet needs, andwhere the services required of the students arefor or under the direction of a governmental unitor a tax-exempt section 501(c)(3) organization.

CAUTION

!In satisfying the community service requirementin (3)(b), the student must not provide servicesfor the lender organization.

An educational institution is an organization witha regular faculty and curriculum and a regularly enrolledbody of students in attendance at the place where theeducational activities are carried on.

A section 501(c)(3) organizationis any corporation,community chest, fund, or foundation organized andoperated exclusively for one or more of the followingpurposes.

Charitable.

Religious.

Educational. Scientific.

Literary.

Testing for public safety.

Fostering national or international amateur sportscompetition (but only if none of its activities involveproviding athletic facilities or equipment).

The prevention of cruelty to children or animals.

Refinanced loan. If you refinanced a student loanwith another loan from an educational institution orcertain tax-exempt organizations, that loan can also

qualify for tax-free treatment of canceled debt. This istrue if the new loan was made:

1) To assist you in attending the educational institu-tion, and

2) Under a program of the new lender that meets theconditions under (3)(b).

State Tuition ProgramsCertain states and agencies maintain programs that

allow people to purchase credits or certificates or makecontributions to an account to pay for future education.Contributions to a qualified state tuition program are notdeductible, and withdrawals are taxable only to the ex-tent they are more than the amount contributed to theprogram. (See Withdrawals more than expensesfor theeducation IRA.)

A qualified state tuition program is one that is es-tablished and maintained by a state or agency and that:

1) Allows a person to:

a) Buy tuition credits or certificates for a desig-nated beneficiary who would then be entitled to

a waiver or payment of qualified higher educa-tional expenses, or

b) Make contributions to an account that is set upto meet the qualified higher educational ex-penses of a designated beneficiary of the ac-count,

2) Requires all purchases or contributions to be madeonly in cash,

3) Prohibits the contributor and the beneficiary fromdirecting the amount invested,

4) Allows a rollover or a change of beneficiary to bemade only between members of the same family(defined earlier under Rolloversfor the educationIRA), and

5) Imposes a penalty on any refund of earnings thatdoes not meet at least one of the following condi-tions.

a) The amount is used for qualified higher educa-tional expenses of the beneficiary.

b) The refund is made because of the death or

disability of the beneficiary.c) The refund is made because the beneficiary

received (and the refund is not more than) ascholarship, a veterans educational assistanceallowance, or another nontaxable payment(other than a gift, bequest, or inheritance) re-ceived for educational expenses.

For more information on a specific state tuition pro-gram, contact the state or agency that established andmaintains it.

Education Savings BondsYou may be able to exclude from your gross incomeall or part of the interest you receive during the yearon the redemption of qualified U.S. savings bonds if youpay qualified higher educational expenses during thesame year.

CAUTION

!If you are married, you can qualify for this ex-clusion only if you file a joint return with yourspouse.

Qualified U.S. savings bonds. A qualified U.S.savings bond is a series EE bond issued after 1989or a series I bond. The bond must be issued either in

your name (as the sole owner) or in your and yourspouse's names (as co-owners). You must be at least24 years old before the bond's issue date.

Qualified expenses. Qualified higher education ex-penses include the following items you pay for eitheryourself, your spouse, or a dependent for whom youclaim an exemption.

1) Tuition and fees required to enroll at or attend aneligible educational institution (defined earlier underRules That Apply to Both Creditsfor the educationcredits). Qualified expenses do notinclude ex-

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penses for room and board or for courses involvingsports, games, or hobbies that are not part of adegree program.

2) Contributions to a qualified state tuition program.

3) Contributions to an education IRA.

Expenses reduced by certain benefits. You mustreduce your qualified higher educational expenses bythe amount of any of the following benefits received by

the student.

1) Tax-free scholarships (see Publication 520).

2) Tax-free withdrawals from an education IRA.

3) Any nontaxable payments (other than gifts, be-quests, or inheritances) received for educationalexpenses or for attending an eligible educationalinstitution, such as:

a) Veterans' educational assistance benefits,

b) Benefits under a qualified state tuition program,or

c) Tax-free employer-provided educational assist-ance.

4) Any expenses used in figuring the Hope and lifetimelearning credits.

Amount excludable. If the total proceeds (interest andprincipal) from the qualified U.S. savings bonds youredeem during the year are not more than the qualifiedhigher educational expenses for the year, you can ex-clude all of the interest. If the proceeds are more thanthe expenses, you can exclude only part of the interest.

To determine the excludable amount, multiply theinterest part of the proceeds by a fraction. The numer-

ator (top part) of the fraction is the qualified higher ed-ucational expenses you paid during the year. The de-nominator (bottom part) of the fraction is the totalproceeds you received during the year.

Modified adjusted gross income limit. The interestexclusion is phased out if your modified adjusted grossincome is between $53,100 and $68,100 (between$79,650 and $109,650 for joint returns). You do notqualify for the interest exclusion if your modified ad-

justed gross income is equal to or more than the upperlimit.

Modified adjusted gross income, for purposes of thisexclusion, is adjusted gross income (AGI) (line 18 ofForm 1040A or line 33 of Form 1040) figured before the

interest exclusion, and modified by adding back any:

1) Foreign earned income exclusion,

2) Foreign housing exclusion or deduction,

3) Exclusion of income for bona fide residents ofAmerican Samoa,

4) Exclusion for income from Puerto Rico,

5) Exclusion for adoption benefits received under anemployer's adoption assistance program, and

6) Deduction for student loan interest.

Use the worksheet in the instructions for line 9, Form8815, to figure your modified AGI. If you claim any ofthe exclusion or deduction items (1)(6) listed above,add the amount of the exclusion or deduction to theamount on line 5 of the worksheet, and enter the totalon Form 8815, line 9, as your modified AGI.

CAUTION

!Because the deduction for interest expensesattributable to royalties and other investmentsis limited to your net investment income, you

cannot figure the deduction until you have figured thisinterest exclusion. Therefore, if you had interest ex-penses attributable to royalties and deductible onSchedule E (Form 1040), you must make a specialcomputation of your deductible interest without regardto this exclusion to figure the net royalty income in-cluded in your modified AGI. SeeRoyalties included inmodified AGI underEducation Savings Bond Programin chapter 1 of Publication 550.

Claiming the exclusion. Use Form 8815 to figure yourexclusion. Attach the form to your Form 1040 or 1040A.

Employer-ProvidedEducational AssistanceEducational assistance benefits you receive from youremployer under an educational assistance program aretax free, up to $5,250 each year. This means youremployer should not include the benefits with yourwages, tips, and other compensation shown in box 1of your Form W2.

CAUTION

!You must reduce yourdeductible educationalexpenses by the amount of any tax-free edu-cational assistance benefits you received for

those expenses.

Educational assistance program. To qualify as aneducational assistance program, the plan must bewritten and meet certain other requirements. Your em-ployer can tell you whether there is a qualified programwhere you work.

Educational assistance. Tax-free educational assist-ance benefits include payments by your employer fortuition, fees and similar expenses, books, supplies, andequipment. The payments must be for undergraduate-level courses that begin before January 1, 2002. Thepayments do not have to be for work-related courses.

Educational assistance benefits do not include pay-ments for the following items.

1) Meals, lodging, transportation, or tools or supplies(other than textbooks) that you can keep aftercompleting the course of instruction.

2) Education involving sports, games, or hobbies un-less the education has a reasonable relationship tothe business of your employer, or is required as partof a degree program.

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3) Graduate-level courses normally taken under aprogram leading to a law, business, medical, orother advanced academic or professional degree.

Benefit over $5,250. If your employer gives you morethan $5,250 of educational assistance benefits duringthe year, the amount over $5,250 is generally taxable.Your employer should include the taxable amount inyour wages (box 1 of your Form W2).

However, if the payments also qualify as a workingcondition fringe benefit, your employer can exclude allof the payments from your wages. A working conditionfringe benefit is a benefit which, had you paid for it, youcould deduct as an employee business expense. Formore information on fringe benefits, see chapter 4 ofPublication 535, Business Expenses.

Expenses paid with benefits. If you received tax-freebenefits under your employer's qualified educationalassistance program, you cannot take a deduction forqualified educational expenses.

CAUTION

!If you had educational expenses that you ex-cluded from gross income under your employ-er's educational assistance program, you can-

not take the Hope credit or the lifetime learning creditfor these same expenses.

How To Get More InformationYou can order free publications and forms, ask taxquestions, and get more information from the IRS inseveral ways. By selecting the method that is best foryou, you will have quick and easy access to tax help.

Free tax services. To find out what services areavailable, get Publication 910, Guide to Free Tax Ser-vices. It contains a list of free tax publications and anindex of tax topics. It also describes other free tax in-formation services, including tax education and assist-ance programs and a list of TeleTax topics.

Personal computer. With your personal com-puter and modem, you can access the IRS onthe Internet at www.irs.gov. While visiting our

web site, you can select:

Frequently Asked Tax Questions(located underTaxpayer Help & Ed) to find answers to questionsyou may have.

Forms & Pubsto download forms and publicationsor search for forms and publications by topic orkeyword.

Fill-in Forms(located under Forms & Pubs) to enterinformation while the form is displayed and thenprint the completed form.

Tax Info For Youto view Internal Revenue Bulletinspublished in the last few years.

Tax Regs in Englishto search regulations and theInternal Revenue Code (under United States Code(USC)).

Comments & Helpto e-mail us with commentsabout the site or with tax questions.

Digital Dispatchand IRS Local News Net(both lo-cated under Tax Info For Business) to receive ourelectronic newsletters on hot tax issues and news.

Small Business Corner(located under Tax Info ForBusiness) to get information on starting and oper-ating a small business.

You can also reach us with your computer using FileTransfer Protocol at ftp.irs.gov.

TaxFax Service. Using the phone attached toyour fax machine, you can receive forms andinstructions by calling 7033689694. Follow

the directions from the prompts. When you order forms,enter the catalog number for the form you need. Theitems you request will be faxed to you.

Phone. Many services are available by phone.

Ordering forms, instructions, and publications. Call18008293676 to order current and prior yearforms, instructions, and publications.

Asking tax questions. Call the IRS with your taxquestions at 18008291040.

TTY/TDD equipment. If you have access toTTY/TDD equipment, call 18008294059 to asktax questions or to order forms and publications.

TeleTax topics. Call 18008294477 to listen topre-recorded messages covering various tax topics.

Evaluating the quality of our telephone services.To ensure that IRS representatives give accurate,courteous, and professional answers, we evaluate thequality of our telephone services in several ways.

A second IRS representative sometimes monitorslive telephone calls. That person only evaluates theIRS assistor and does not keep a record of anytaxpayer's name or tax identification number.

We sometimes record telephone calls to evaluateIRS assistors objectively. We hold these recordingsno longer than one week and use them only tomeasure the quality of assistance.

We value our customers' opinions. Throughout thisyear, we will be surveying our customers for theiropinions on our service.

Page 16


17/19

Walk-in. You can walk in to many post offices,libraries, and IRS offices to pick up certainforms, instructions, and publications. Also,

some libraries and IRS offices have:

An extensive collection of products available to printfrom a CD-ROM or photocopy from reproducibleproofs.

The Internal Revenue Code, regulations, InternalRevenue Bulletins, and Cumulative Bulletins avail-able for research purposes.

Mail. You can send your order for forms, in-structions, and publications to the DistributionCenter nearest to you and receive a response

within 10 workdays after your request is received. Findthe address that applies to your part of the country.

Western part of U.S.:

Western Area Distribution CenterRancho Cordova, CA 957430001

Central part of U.S.:Central Area Distribution CenterP.O. Box 8903Bloomington, IL 617028903

Eastern part of U.S. and foreign addresses:Eastern Area Distribution CenterP.O. Box 85074Richmond, VA 232615074

CD-ROM. You can order IRS Publication 1796,Federal Tax Products on CD-ROM, and obtain:

Current tax forms, instructions, and publications.

Prior-year tax forms, instructions, and publications.

Popular tax forms which may be filled in electron-ically, printed out for submission, and saved forrecordkeeping.

Internal Revenue Bulletins.

The CD-ROM can be purchased from NationalTechnical Information Service (NTIS) by calling18772336767 or on the Internet atwww.irs.gov/cdorders. The first release is available inmid-December and the final release is available in late

January.IRS Publication 3207, Small Business Resource

Guide, is an interactive CD-ROM that contains infor-mation important to small businesses. It is available inmid-February. You can get one free copy by calling18008293676.

Page 17


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Index

AAssistance (SeeMore information)

CCancellation of student loan .. 13Credits for higher education ex-

penses ................................. 2

DDependent ............................... 4

EEducation IRA:

Contributions ........................ 8Rollovers ............................ 10Transfers ............................ 10Withdrawals ....................... 10

Education savings bonds ...... 14

Educational assistancebenefits .............................. 15Eligible educational institution . 4

Employer-provided educationalassistance .......................... 15

FFamily members .................... 10

Forgiveness of student loan .. 13Form 1098T ........................... 6Form 8815 ............................. 15

Form 8863 ............................... 6Form W9S ............................. 6

Free tax services ................... 16

HHelp (SeeMore information)

Hope credit .............................. 5

IIndividual retirement arrange-

ment (IRA) provisions (SeealsoEducation IRA andIRAwithdrawals) ........................... 6

Interest on savings bonds ..... 14Interest on student loans ....... 12

IRA withdrawals ............... 10, 11

LLifetime learning credit ............ 5Loans for students ................. 12

MMembers of the family ........... 10Modified adjusted gross income

for education credits ............ 4Modified adjusted gross income

for savings bond interest ... 15Modified adjusted gross income

for student loans ................ 13

More information ................... 16

PPublications (SeeMore

information)

SSavings bonds ....................... 14

State tuition programs ........... 14Student loans:

Cancellation of ................... 13Interest on .......................... 12

TTax credits for higher

education ............................. 2Tax help (SeeMore information)

TTY/TDD information ............ 16

UU.S. savings bonds ............... 14

WWaiver of tax-free withdrawal

from education IRA ............ 11Withdrawals from IRAs .... 10, 11

Page 18


19/19

Tax Publications for Individual Taxpayers

General Guides

Your Rights as a TaxpayerYour Federal Income Tax (ForIndividuals)Farmers Tax GuideTax Guide for Small BusinessTax Calendars for 2000Highlights of 1999 Tax Changes

Guide to Free Tax Services

Specialized Publications

Armed Forces Tax GuideFuel Tax Credits and RefundsTravel, Entertainment, Gift, and CarExpensesExemptions, Standard Deduction,and Filing InformationMedical and Dental ExpensesChild and Dependent Care ExpensesDivorced or Separated IndividualsTax Withholding and Estimated TaxTax Benefits for Work-Related

EducationForeign Tax Credit for IndividualsU.S. Government Civilian EmployeesStationed AbroadSocial Security and OtherInformation for Members of theClergy and Religious WorkersU.S. Tax Guide for AliensScholarships and FellowshipsMoving ExpensesSelling Your HomeCredit for the Elderly or the DisabledTaxable and Nontaxable IncomeCharitable ContributionsResidential Rental Property

Commonly Used Tax Forms

Miscellaneous Deductions

Tax Information for First-TimeHomeownersReporting Tip IncomeSelf-Employment TaxDepreciating Property Placed inService Before 1987Installment SalesPartnerships

Sales and Other Dispositions ofAssetsCasualties, Disasters, and Thefts(Business and Nonbusiness)Investment Income and ExpensesBasis of AssetsRecordkeeping for IndividualsOlder Americans Tax GuideCommunity PropertyExamination of Returns, AppealRights, and Claims for RefundSurvivors, Executors, andAdministratorsDetermining the Value of DonatedPropertyMutual Fund DistributionsTax Guide for Individuals WithIncome From U.S. Possessions

Pension and Annuity IncomeCasualty, Disaster, and Theft LossWorkbook (Personal-Use Property)Business Use of Your Home(Including Use by Day-CareProviders)Individual Retirement Arrangements(IRAs) (Including Roth IRAs andEducation IRAs)Tax Highlights for U.S. Citizens andResidents Going AbroadUnderstanding the Collection ProcessEarned Income Credit (EIC)Tax Guide to U.S. Civil ServiceRetirement Benefits

Tax Highlights for Persons withDisabilitiesBankruptcy Tax GuideDirect SellersSocial Security and EquivalentRailroad Retirement BenefitsHow Do I Adjust My Tax Withholding?

Passive Activity and At-Risk RulesHousehold Employers Tax GuideTax Rules for Children andDependentsHome Mortgage Interest DeductionHow To Depreciate PropertyPractice Before the IRS and Powerof AttorneyIntroduction to Estate and Gift TaxesIRS Will Figure Your Tax

Per Diem RatesReporting Cash Payments of Over$10,000The Taxpayer Advocate Service of

the IRS

Derechos del ContribuyenteCmo Preparar la Declaracin deImpuesto Federal

Crdito por Ingreso del TrabajoEnglish-Spanish Glossary of Wordsand Phrases Used in PublicationsIssued by the Internal RevenueService

U.S. Tax Treaties

Spanish Language Publications

Tax Highlights for CommercialFishermen

910

595553509334225

171

3378463

501

502503504505508

514516

517

519520521523524525526527529

530

531533534

537

544547

550551552554

541

555556

559

561

564570

575584

587

590

593

594596721

901907

908

915

919

925926929

946

911

936

950

1542

967

1544

1546

596SP

1SP

850

579SP

Comprendiendo el Proceso de Cobro594SP

947

Tax Benefits for Adoption968

Informe de Pagos en Efectivo enExceso de $10,000 (Recibidos enuna Ocupacin o Negocio)

1544SP

See How To Get More Informationfor a variety of ways to get forms, including by computer,

fax, phone, and mail. For fax orders only, use the catalog numbers when ordering.

U.S. Individual Income Tax ReturnItemized Deductions & Interest andOrdinary Dividends

Profit or Loss From BusinessNet Profit From Business

Capital Gains and Losses

Supplemental Income and LossEarned Income Credit

Profit or Loss From Farming

Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled

Income Tax Return for Single andJoint Filers With No Dependents

Self-Employment TaxU.S. Individual Income Tax ReturnInterest and Ordinary Dividends forForm 1040A FilersChild and Dependent CareExpenses for Form 1040A FilersCredit for the Elderly or theDisabled for Form 1040A Filers

Estimated Tax for IndividualsAmended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

Unreimbursed Employee BusinessExpenses

Underpayment of Estimated Tax byIndividuals, Estates, and Trusts

Power of Attorney and Declarationof Representative

Child and Dependent Care Expenses

Moving ExpensesDepreciation and AmortizationApplication for Automatic Extension of TimeTo File U.S. Individual Income Tax ReturnInvestment Interest Expense DeductionAdditional Taxes Attributable to IRAs, OtherQualified Retirement Plans, Annuities,Modified Endowment Contracts, and MSAsAlternative Minimum TaxIndividualsNoncash Charitable Contributions

Change of AddressExpenses for Business Use of Your Home

Nondeductible IRAsPassive Activity Loss Limitations

1040Sch A & B

Sch CSch C-EZSch D

Sch ESch EICSch FSch H Household Employment Taxes

Sch R

Sch SE

1040EZ

1040ASch 1

Sch 2

Sch 3

1040-ES1040X

2106 Employee Business Expenses2106-EZ

2210

24412848

390345624868

49525329

6251828385828606

88228829

Form Number and TitleCatalogNumber

Sch J Farm Income Averaging

Additional Child Tax Credit8812

Education Credits8863

CatalogNumber

1170020604

11744

1186211980

124901290613141

1317713329

1360062299637046396610644120811323225379

11320

Form Number and Title

11330

113341437411338

113441333911346121872551311359

113581132712075

10749

12064

11329

1134011360

See How To Get More Informationfor a variety of ways to get publications,including by computer, phone, and mail.

970 Tax Benefits for Higher Education971 Innocent Spouse Relief

Sch D-1 Continuation Sheet for Schedule D 10424

972 Child Tax Credit

us internal revenue service: p970--1999

Documents