Allowing an individual income tax deduction for certain amounts contributed by a divorced or legally separated parent to his or her child's college savings account or college tuition and expenses program and limiting the deduction that may be claimed by a married person who files separately

Also, under current law, there exists a college savings program, commonly referred to as "EdVest II," under which anyone may open an account for a prospective student, regardless of the contributor's relationship to the beneficiary. Individuals may open accounts for themselves, and a prospective student may be the beneficiary of more than one college savings account. Contributions made to an account set up under the program, up to a limit of $3,000 each year for each beneficiary, may be deducted from a contributor's income in the calculation of his or her income taxes if the beneficiary of the account is one of the following: the claimant; the claimant's child and the claimant's dependent under the Internal Revenue Code; the claimant's grandchild; the claimant's great-grandchild; or the claimant's niece or nephew.

Under this bill, an income tax deduction for amounts contributed to both EdVest I and EdVest II may be claimed by a divorced or legally separated parent of a child. The deduction may be claimed without regard to whether the child is his or her dependent.

Currently, the total amount for which a deduction may be claimed under EdVest I and EdVest II, per beneficiary, by any claimant, may not exceed $3,000 each year and, in the case of a married couple filing a joint return, the total annual deduction under these two programs, per beneficiary, claimed by the married couple may not exceed $3,000.

Under the bill, the total annual deduction under these two programs, per beneficiary, claimed by married parents who file jointly or separately, or by the divorced or legally separated parents of a child, may not exceed $3,000. The total annual deduction under the bill, under these two programs, per beneficiary, claimed by a married person who files separately may not exceed $1,500 per claimant. The total annual deduction under the bill, under these two programs, per beneficiary, claimed by a formerly married couple may not exceed a total of $3,000, or $1,500 per claimant, except that the former couple's divorce judgment may specify a different division of the $3,000 maximum that may be claimed by each former spouse.

Because this bill relates to an exemption from state or local taxes, it may be referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions for a report to be printed as an appendix to the bill.