In case you happened to miss it, the Illinois legislature last year passed an addition to the Revenue Code that requires recapture of deductions that you may have taken for contributions to one of the Illinois 529 plans. 529 Contribution Deduction Recapture For years, the Illinois 529 plans – BrightStart, Bright Directions, and College Illinois! [...]
Posts under ‘education’
Changes to Student Aid 7/1/2009
Every year on July 1, annual changes come into play in the education aid arena, and this year is no exception, with lots of changes. As of July 1, 2009, several changes for Student Financial Aid went into effect. Highlights are: Increase in maximum Pell Grants to $5,350. The old maximum amount for Pell Grants [...]
BrightStart / Oppenheimer Update
As we previously discussed in this post, the Illinois State Treasurer, Alexi Giannoulias is taking Oppenheimer to task for it’s sins with regard to the BrightStart 529 plan, an Illinois-based college savings plan. This is in regard to Oppenheimer’s use of inappropriately risky investments in a supposedly safe, bond-oriented, allocation for the plan. Just recently, [...]
Reminiscing…
Earlier this week marked the five year anniversary of this blog. Seems like an awful lot has happened during that time, from many different points of view. I thought it would be interesting to review a couple of those early entries today, to see how they have weathered the test of time. Keep in mind, at [...]
Illinois’ BrightStart Plan Woes
Note: an update to this story can be found here. If you’re an Illinois (among other states, see Note below) parent of a child heading to college or already in college, then you may already be painfully aware of the “Oppenheimer problem” that the BrightStart 529 plan has encountered. Briefly, one of the Oppenheimer mutual fund choices (formerly) available [...]
Education Benefits of ARRA 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA 2009) included three provisions for higher education benefits: changes to the HOPE education credit program, increases in the Pell Grant limits, and expansion of the types of expenses considered Qualified Higher Education Expenses for §529 college savings plans. Changes to the HOPE Education Credit Program (renamed American Opportunity Tax Credit) The [...]
Higher Education Expenses Paid From A Qualified Plan
Another way to pull funds from an IRA or a qualified retirement plan (401(k), 403(b), 457, etc.) without having to pay the 10% penalty is to use those funds for Qualified Higher Education Expenses (QHEE). This comes up quite often, as parents are faced with the issues surrounding the dueling requirements of retirement saving and [...]
Changes Coming For 529 Plans…?
It’s very likely, according to some sources, that 529 plans will be impacted by changes in the law in the coming months. Among those changes are the great potential (included in the proposed stimulus plan) that you’ll soon be able to use your 529 plan proceeds to purchase computers and computing services – an option [...]
College Tuition Benefits From Stimulus Plan
Posted here you’ll find a rundown of the Education Funding benefits that are proposed in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – including increases in tax credits, grant levels, and subsidized loan amounts.
CollegeIllinois! Is Happy About The Markets…
CollegeIllinois! is sure making hay over the recent market downturn… Article here At least someone is benefiting from all the carnage!
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