ESA — Articles — Ascensus

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Is Your Organization on Track to Meet These IRA, HSA, and Coverdell ESA Deadlines?

It's a brand-new year filled with fresh reporting deadlines, and perhaps a good time to take note on whether your financial organization is on track to meet these obligations—or to refresh your memory on when specific deadlines occur. First quarter is always a busy reporting season.

Q is for Qualified Coverdell ESA Distributions: Helping Your Clients Pay for Education Expenses

If it’s been a while since you’ve worked with Coverdell ESAs, here’s a refresher on the rules and your responsibilities when processing ESA distributions.

ESAAscensusOctober 19, 2023Coverdell ESAs, Coverdell ESA, Regulations, Reporting

Common Coverdell ESA Distribution and Portability Questions

Here are answers to some of the common Coverdell ESA questions we receive from financial organizations.

expert, ESAAscensusJune 15, 2023Coverdell ESAs, Coverdell ESA, Compliance & Operations, Q&A

529 Plans and Coverdell ESAs – What’s the Difference?

When it comes to saving for education, individuals have a variety of options when it comes to the type of savings plan to use. Some types of savings arrangements include tax-advantaged accounts that have certain restrictions, while other types of accounts do not provide tax benefits but offer more flexibility.

ESAAscensusAugust 18, 2022Coverdell ESA, Education

Time to Gear Up for First-Quarter Reporting Requirements

Financial organizations that administer IRAs, health savings accounts (HSAs), and Coverdell education savings accounts (ESA) have many reporting deadlines looming ahead in 2022. Here’s a rundown of the impending due dates in the first quarter.

HSA, IRA, ESAAscensusDecember 16, 2021Compliance & Operations, IRA, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, HSA, Coverdell ESA

Know These Steps When Opening a Coverdell ESA

Parents and grandparents tend to open and to contribute to Coverdell education savings accounts (ESAs) around the holidays and the start of the new year. If you don’t work with ESAs on a regular basis, now is the perfect time to review how to establish an ESA.

ESAAscensusDecember 16, 2021Compliance & Operations, Coverdell ESA

Coverdell ESAs Come with Different Roles

What are the different roles commonly seen on a Coverdell ESA application? When can the designated beneficiary of an ESA be changed? When can the responsible individual of an ESA be changed?

IRS Extends IRA, HSA, ESA Contribution Deadline and Form 5498 Filing Deadline

The IRS officially extended the deadline for individuals to file their federal tax returns and make IRA, HSA, and ESA contributions with Notice 2021-21. This notice also gives financial organizations until June 30, 2021, to file and furnish Form 5498 series forms.

IRA, HSA, ESAAscensusApril 15, 2021Compliance & Operations, IRA, HSA, Coverdell ESA, IRS, Guidance & Legislation, Contribution, Form 5498, Reporting, Tax

When Is It OK to Accept Last-Minute Contributions?

Find out when it’s okay and when it’s not okay to accept prior-year contributions that are mailed to your organization or deposited through an ACH payment after the contribution deadline.

ESA, HSA, IRAAscensusMarch 18, 2021Compliance & Operations, IRA, HSA, Coverdell ESA, SIMPLE IRA Plan, SEP Plan, Contribution, Reporting

Accepting and Reporting Coverdell ESA Contributions

Is your organization responsible for ensuring that family members do not contribute more than the annual contribution limit to a Coverdell ESA? Can you accept ESA contributions on the child’s 18th birthday? How are ESA contributions reported and what is the reporting deadline?

ESA, expertAscensusMarch 18, 2021Compliance & Operations, Coverdell ESA, Contribution, Reporting, Q&A

Answers to 5 Common ESA Distribution Questions

As a new school year begins, your organization may notice an uptick in questions from clients about distributions from Coverdell education savings accounts. Here are the answers to five of the more common questions you may hear.

ESAAscensusAugust 20, 2020Compliance & Operations, Coverdell ESA, Distribution

IRS Provides Welcome Deadline Relief for Savings Arrangement Reporting

IRS Notice 2020-35 provides more deadline relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most awaited was an extension for providing the Form 5498-series information returns for IRAs, HSAs, MSAs, and Coverdell ESAs.

ESA, HSA, IRAAscensusJune 18, 2020Compliance & Operations, IRA, Coverdell ESA, HSA, IRS, Contribution, Reporting

Recent IRS Notices Extend Many Tax-Related Deadlines

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the IRS has extended several time-sensitive, tax-related deadlines. IRS Notices 2020-17, 2020-18, and 2020-23 address specific actions that a taxpayer or entity has until July 15, 2020, to complete.

Mark Your Calendar for These IRA, HSA, and ESA Deadlines

As a trustee or custodian of IRAs, HSAs, or ESAs, your organization must keep track of many deadlines throughout the year. Missing a deadline can be costly. Seeing the big picture of all due dates in one calendar year with a brief description of each may be helpful.

Going Back to School with an Education Savings Account

The back-to-school season may be a good time to remind clients that a Coverdell ESA is an easy, affordable way for them to begin saving to help pay for education expenses—and to answer any questions they may have.

ESAAscensusSeptember 19, 2019Compliance & Operations, Coverdell ESA, Contribution, Distribution, Q&A

Simplified Tax Filing Promise Kept… Sort of

The 2018 IRS Form 1040 is noticeably different from previous years as a result of efforts to simplify tax filing. Just how different is it? Find out how reporting retirement savings-related information on Form 1040 has changed.

Employer Plan, ESA, HSA, IRAAscensusMarch 21, 2019Business Insights, Compliance & Operations, IRA, HSA, IRS, Reporting, Tax

More Than a Newsletter: A Tour of The Link

The Link can make administering your retirement, education, and health savings plans easier and help you grow your business. Tour The Link to learn how to find what you need—and what you may have been missing.

ESA, Employer Plan, HSA, IRAAscensusMarch 21, 2019Business Insights, IRA, HSA, Coverdell ESA, Retirement Plan