 Using
Roth IRA to pay college expenses
|  Dear
College Money Guru,
I have a Roth IRA that I would
like to use to pay for my son's college expenses. Can I do this? What is the time
frame for having the money in the Roth before you pull it out?
Also, could I actually cash it
in to pay for my older son's student loan and not be penalized?
-- Sonya
 Dear
Sonya,
Yes, you can tap your Roth IRA to pay for your
son's college expenses, but it may not be your best option. One
reason is that you'll have to pay close attention to the income-tax
rules in order to avoid taxes and penalties. Another is that distributions
from your Roth IRA can have a big impact on your son's eligibility
for financial aid. I explain this in more detail below.
The Roth IRA is a terrific investment vehicle. Your
contributions to the account can be distributed tax-free at any
time, for any purpose. And the earnings can be distributed tax-free
after you reach age 59½, provided the first Roth IRA account
you opened was established more than five years before. The ordering
rule in Roth IRAs is that earnings come out only after you've withdrawn
all your contributions, making it possible for you to withdraw contributions
for college and leave the earnings in the account to grow tax-free
for your retirement.
But if your Roth IRA withdrawals exceed your contributions
and dip into earnings, those earnings will be taxable unless you
have a qualifying event. Other than reaching age 59½, the
only qualifying events have to do with your death, disability or
first-time home purchase. Paying for college is not among these
qualifying events, making the use of your Roth IRA for this purpose
potentially subject to taxation.
Distributions from a Roth IRA that are taxable are
normally subject to an additional 10-percent tax penalty. This is
where college can help you. The penalty is waived to the extent
you pay qualified higher education expenses, or QHEE, for yourself,
your spouse or your child or grandchild. QHEE includes tuition at
most accredited, post-secondary institutions, along with mandatory
fees, books, supplies, equipment, room and board (see IRS
Publication 970 for limits), and certain additional expenses
if the student is a special-needs beneficiary.
QHEE does not include repayment
of student loans, as much as I wish it would. This limitation will probably foil
any plans you have to use the Roth IRA to pay off your older son's student loans. Let's
turn now to the financial-aid concern. In determining eligibility for federal
financial aid, a Roth IRA is not counted as an asset of the student or the parent.
That's great news, until you consider that the aid formula considers income as
well as assets, and that Roth IRA withdrawals are counted as income whether or
not they are subject to income tax. Even the tax-free return of your Roth IRA
contributions is treated as income in the financial aid formula, and up to 47
percent of parental income will be deemed available to pay for college!
The bottom line is that you should be keeping
your Roth IRA intact if withdrawing it for college creates a tax
or financial-aid disadvantage. Even if there are no immediate negative
consequences, you'll probably be better off looking for loans or
other ways to pay for college. That way, your Roth IRA will stay
fully loaded, allowing you to take full advantage of its tax benefits.
After all, your son can borrow for his education, but you can't
borrow for retirement.
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