Publication 970
Tax Benefits for Education

For use in preparing 2002 Returns

8. Education Savings Bond Program

Important Changes for 2002

New modification to adjusted gross income (AGI).   Beginning in 2002, for purposes of the phaseout of the deduction, you must add back to your AGI any qualified tuition and fees deducted on Form 1040 or 1040A. Your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is your AGI without excluding your savings bond interest and with certain other deductions and exclusions added back in. For more information, see Modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) under Who Can Cash In Bonds Tax Free.

Income limits for exclusion reduction increased.    For 2002, the amount of your interest exclusion will be phased out (gradually reduced) if your filing status is married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er) and if your MAGI is between $86,400 and $116,400. You cannot take the deduction if your MAGI is $116,400 or more. For 2001, the limits that applied to you were $83,650 and $113,650.

For all other filing statuses, your interest exclusion is phased out if your MAGI is between $57,600 and $72,600. You cannot take the deduction if your MAGI is $72,600 or more. For 2001, the limits that applied to you were $55,750 and $70,750. See Does the Amount of Your Income Affect the Amount of Your Exclusion, later.

Qualified higher education expenses may be further reduced.   Beginning in 2002, you must reduce your qualified higher education expenses by the expenses you used to figure the exclusion of earnings from a qualified tuition program (QTP). For more information, see Expenses reduced by certain benefits under Qualified higher education expenses.

Introduction

Generally, you must pay tax on the interest earned on U.S. savings bonds. If you do not include the interest in income in the years it is earned, you must include it in your income in the year in which you cash in the bonds.

However, when you cash in certain savings bonds under an education savings bond program, you may be able to exclude interest from income.

Who Can Cash In Bonds Tax Free?

You may be able to cash in qualified U.S. savings bonds without having to include in your income some or all of the interest earned on the bonds if you meet the following conditions.

• You pay qualified higher education expenses for yourself, your spouse, or a dependent for whom you claim an exemption on your return.
• Your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is less than $72,600 ($116,400 if filing a joint return).
• Your filing status is not married filing separately.

Qualified U.S. savings bonds.   A qualified U.S. savings bond is a series EE bond issued after 1989 or a series I bond. The bond must be issued either in your name (as the sole owner) or in the name of both you and your spouse (as co-owners).

The owner must be at least 24 years old before the bond's issue date. The issue date is printed directly on the front of the savings bond.

The issue date is not necessarily the date of purchase - it will be the first day of the month in which the bond is purchased.

Qualified higher education expenses.   These include the following items you pay for either yourself, your spouse, or a dependent for whom you claim an exemption.

1. Tuition and fees required to enroll at or attend an eligible educational institution. Qualified expenses do not include expenses for room and board or for courses involving sports, games, or hobbies that are not part of a degree or certificate granting program.
2. Contributions to a qualified tuition program (QTP) (see chapter 6).
3. Contributions to a Coverdell education savings account (ESA), formerly known as an education IRA (see chapter 5).

Adjusted qualified higher education expenses.   You must reduce your qualified higher education expenses by all of the following tax-free benefits.

1. Tax-free scholarships. See Publication 520.
2. Expenses used to figure the tax-free portion of withdrawals from a Coverdell ESA (formerly known as an education IRA).
3. Expenses used to figure the tax-free portion of distributions from a QTP.
4. Any nontaxable payments (other than gifts, bequests, or inheritances) received for education expenses or for attending an eligible educational institution, such as:
   1. Veterans' educational assistance benefits,
   2. Qualified tuition reductions, or
   3. Employer-provided educational assistance.
5. Any expenses used in figuring the Hope and lifetime learning credits.

Eligible educational institution.   An eligible educational institution is any college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary educational institution eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the Department of Education. It includes virtually all accredited, public, nonprofit, and proprietary (privately owned profit-making) postsecondary institutions. The educational institution should be able to tell you if it is an eligible educational institution.

Dependent for whom you claim an exemption.   You claim an exemption for a person if you list his or her name and other required information on line 6c, Form 1040 (or Form 1040A).

Modified adjusted gross income (MAGI).   For most taxpayers, MAGI is adjusted gross income (AGI) as figured on their federal income tax return without taking into account this interest exclusion.

MAGI when using Form 1040A.   If you file Form 1040A, MAGI is the AGI on line 22 of that form figured without taking into account any savings bond interest exclusion and modified by adding back any:

1. Exclusion for adoption benefits received under an employer's adoption assistance program,
2. Deduction for student loan interest, and
3. Deduction for tuition and fees.

MAGI when using Form 1040.   If you file Form 1040, your MAGI is the AGI on line 36 of that form figured without taking into account any savings bond interest exclusion and modified by adding back any:

1. Foreign earned income exclusion,
2. Foreign housing exclusion,
3. Foreign housing deduction,
4. Exclusion of income for bona fide residents of American Samoa,
5. Exclusion of income from Puerto Rico,
6. Exclusion for adoption benefits received under an employer's adoption assistance program,
7. Deduction for student loan interest, and
8. Deduction for tuition and fees

Use the worksheet in the instructions for line 9, Form 8815, to figure your MAGI. If you claim any of the exclusion or deduction items (1) - (6) listed above, add the amount of the exclusion or deduction to the amount on line 5 of the worksheet. Do not add in the deduction for (7) student loan interest or (8) tuition and fees. Enter the total on Form 8815, line 9, as your modified AGI.

Because the deduction for interest expenses attributable to royalties and other investments is limited to your net investment income, you cannot figure the deduction until you have figured this interest exclusion. Therefore, if you had interest expenses attributable to royalties and deductible on Schedule E (Form 1040), Supplemental Income and Loss, you must make a special computation of your deductible interest without regard to this exclusion to figure the net royalty income included in your modified AGI. See Royalties included in modified AGI under Education Savings Bond Program in chapter 1 of Publication 550.

How Is the Tax-Free Amount Figured?

If the total you receive when you cash in the bonds is not more than the adjusted qualified higher education expenses for the year, all of the interest on the bonds may be tax free. However, if the total you receive when you cash in the bonds is more than the adjusted expenses, only part of the interest may be tax free.

To determine the tax-free amount, multiply the interest part of the proceeds by a fraction. The numerator (top part) of the fraction is the adjusted qualified higher education expenses you paid during the year. The denominator (bottom part) of the fraction is the total proceeds you received during the year.

Example.   In February 2002, Mark and Joan Washington, a married couple, cashed a qualified series EE U.S. savings bond they bought in November 1993. They received proceeds of $9,000, representing principal of $6,000 and interest of $3,000. In 2002, they paid $7,500 of their daughter's college tuition. They are not claiming an education credit for that amount, and their daughter does not have any tax-free education benefits. Their MAGI for 2002 was $80,000.