<p>I have a cousin in her sophomore year that I would like to help with tuition. She has received several grants and also she and her parents have student loans. It is my understanding that the grants and the loans will be applied to her student account with the university and any excess will be distributed to her. The issue is that I would like to make a payment directly to the university for the amount needed after application of the grants and that she use her loan proceeds for additional expenses like books, room, board, etc. Is there a way to accomplish that? I would prefer to pay the university directly for gift tax purposes but the way it seems to work is that the grants and loans are both applied first on her university account. Help?</p>
<p>Is you gift greater than $13,000? If not, there’s no issue with gift taxes.</p>
<p>Can you just pay off the loan after she receives the funds?</p>
<p>I think the OP may be seeking a way to get a tax deduction. Could you clarify?</p>
<p>Only parents can claim a tax deduction for college expenses. </p>
<p>Some states will allow a tax credit or deduction for contributions to 529 accounts (just for future reference).</p>
<p>I was thinking the payment was a donation to the college and therefore a deduction as a charitable contribution. However, I don’t think that will work either because I don’t think if you designate it for one student it meets the requirement for deduction.</p>
<p>Not all parents can take deductions, only those up to a certain income level.</p>
<p>I think that anything you pay for her studies will be reportable as some kind of income on the FAFSA next year. kelsmom would know for sure.</p>
<p>In which case, it may make more sense for you to help the parents pay down their debts so that they in turn have more money to put toward your cousin’s education.</p>
<p>OP
What kind of gift tax issue are you trying to deal with? I’m not sure there will BE a gift tax issue.</p>
<p>Gift tax does not apply if tuition payments are made directly to the school. This is the pertinant link…[Frequently</a> Asked Questions on Gift Taxes](<a href=“http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=108139,00.html]Frequently”>http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=108139,00.html)</p>
<p>There will be no allowabable dedution, but there will be no gift tax form required.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your replies. I wondered about the implication of the gifts on financial aid in upcoming years so I need to keep that in mind. As for the tax implications, yes, I think it will be over the $13,000 in one year so that is part of why I would prefer direct payment ot he university since payment directly to the school gets around that. In addition to that, and maybe more importantly, I simply wanted to be responsible for the tuition only and let her and her family be responsible for and budget for the loans to cover the additional expenses for books, living expenses, etc. Do you think there is a way to do that or do the loan proceeds that the family takes out get directly applied to the tuition in her university account? Do you think there is any way for me to pay the tuition gap (directly to the university) and get the loan proceeds to the student?</p>
<p>Thanks again for your help. I may have answered my own question by calling the financial aid office at the university. Please confirm, if you can, that this sounds correct. They told me that she can “decline” the loans and then the university bill she gets will show tuition less his grants. I would then make the payment to the university on her behalf for the balance of the tuition. She would then “accept” the loans after the payment has been made and recieve the loan proceeds that she requires for her additional expenses. Sounds good…I am unfamiliar with a lot of this financial aid lingo so “declining” the loans sounds a bit scary but as long as she and I are confident that she can “accept” these proceeds after the fact then I am good to go. Thanks again for all your help!</p>
<p>Does she live on campus or off? This would work but waiting to request the loans would probably put her getting the loans a few weeks after she requests them (after school has started) and if she needs the money right away that could cause a problem for her. If she can wait on the loan refunds then it should work fine.</p>
<p>What a great thing for you to do, Matthsa.</p>