Establishing multiple Qualified Tuition Plan accounts can provide you with an opportunity to better control the amount and timing of distributed earnings. Each Qualified Tuition Plan account will have a different earnings ratio depending on its investment history, making it possible to take withdrawals on a selective basis. This strategy is similar to selecting certain mutual fund shares to sell based on their unrealized gains or losses. A Qualified Tuition Plan savings account established ten years prior to college is probably going to have a higher earnings ratio than an account established one year prior to college. It may also be possible to achieve this positioning by placing different types of investments into different accounts.
Specific Details
If you seek to diversify your college savings with a 50/50 blend of stocks and bonds, consider opening one Qualified Tuition Plan account with a 100 percent stock portfolio and a second account in a different Qualified Tuition Plan with a 100 percent bond portfolio. Your two accounts will develop different earnings ratios as determined by their respective investment performance.
Potential Savings
You may receive tax benefits in opening multiple Qualified Tuition Plan accounts for your child.