Help Pay for College With Credit Card Purchases

Posted by accountingweb on Jan 11 2001 90 printer friendly

Very soon, you may be able to put money aside to help finance your children's education when you use a credit card.

A new service offered by UPromise hopes to capture market attention by placing rebates on consumer products into a 529 plan, a state-sponsored savings plan in which any monies are tax-deferred until withdrawal. At that time the money is taxed to the child, and presumably a lower rate than that of the parents.

Rebates could range from one percent for general credit card use, to as much a 10 percent for a restaurant meal, for example.

The service plans its debut this March. A user can even have friends and family contribute their rebates to a certain account. The company has some strong backers behind it, including former senator and presidential candidate Bill Bradley, who says, "I think UPromise could change the world."

Voice of the Editor

Even though any accounting auditor would tell you it seems like there are an awful lot of tax accountants out there, surely one-third of the country isn't made up of tax preparers, so it's rather startling news to learn that one-third of Americans like to do their taxes. Who knew?

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