Publication 970
taxmap/pubs/p970-039.htm#en_us_publink1000178598taxmap/pubs/p970-039.htm#en_us_publink1000270084Income limits for exclusion reduction increased.
(p57)For 2012, the amount of your interest exclusion will be gradually reduced (phased out) if your filing status is married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er) with a dependent child, and your modified adjusted gross income is between $109,250 and $139,250. You cannot exclude any of the interest if your MAGI is $139,250 or more. For 2011, the limits that applied to you were $106,650 and
$136,650.
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 the interest from
income.
taxmap/pubs/p970-039.htm#en_us_publink1000178602
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 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 $87,850 ($139,250 if married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er) with a dependent
child).
- Your filing status is not married filing separately.
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 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 (or posted, if bought
electronically). |
taxmap/pubs/p970-039.htm#en_us_publink1000178605These include the following items you pay for either yourself, your spouse, or a dependent for whom you claim an exemption.
- Tuition and fees required to enroll at or attend an eligible educational institution. Qualified education 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.
- Contributions to a qualified tuition program (QTP) (see
How Much Can You Contribute in
chapter 8, Qualified Tuition Program, ).
- Contributions to a Coverdell education savings account (ESA) (see
Contributions in
chapter 7, Coverdell Education Savings Account).
You must reduce your qualified education expenses by all of the following tax-free benefits.
- Tax-free part of scholarships and fellowships (see
Tax-Free Scholarships and Fellowships in
chapter 1, Scholarships, Fellowships, Grants, and Tuition
Reductions).
- Expenses used to figure the tax-free portion of distributions from a Coverdell ESA (see
Qualified Education Expenses in
chapter 7, Coverdell Education Savings Account).
- Expenses used to figure the tax-free portion of distributions from a QTP (see
Qualified education expenses in
chapter 8, Qualified Tuition Program).
- Any tax-free payments (other than gifts or inheritances) received as educational assistance, such
as:
- Veterans' educational assistance benefits (see
Veterans' Benefits in
chapter 1, Scholarships, Fellowships, Grants, and Tuition
Reductions),
- Qualified tuition reductions (see
Qualified Tuition Reduction in
chapter 1, Scholarships, Fellowships, Grants, and Tuition
Reductions), or
- Employer-provided educational assistance (see
chapter 11, Employer-Provided Educational Assistance).
- Any expenses used in figuring the American opportunity and lifetime learning credits. See
What Expenses Qualify in
chapter 2, American Opportunity Credit, and
What Expenses Qualify in
chapter 3, Lifetime Learning Credit, for more information.
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 U.S. 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.
Certain educational institutions located outside the United States also participate in the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid (FSA)
programs.
taxmap/pubs/p970-039.htm#en_us_publink1000178618You claim an exemption for a person if you list his or her name and other required information on Form 1040 (or Form 1040A), line 6c.
taxmap/pubs/p970-039.htm#en_us_publink1000178619For most taxpayers, MAGI is adjusted gross income (AGI) as figured on their federal income tax return without taking into account this interest exclusion. However, as discussed below, there may be other
modifications.
taxmap/pubs/p970-039.htm#en_us_publink1000178620If you file Form 1040A, your 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 amount on line 18 (Student loan interest deduction) and line 19 (Tuition and fees
deduction).
taxmap/pubs/p970-039.htm#en_us_publink1000178621If you file Form 1040, your MAGI is the AGI on line 38 of that form figured without taking into account any savings bond interest exclusion and modified by adding back
any:
- Foreign earned income exclusion,
- Foreign housing exclusion,
- Foreign housing deduction,
- Exclusion of income by bona fide residents of American Samoa,
- Exclusion of income by bona fide residents of Puerto Rico,
- Exclusion for adoption benefits received under an employer's adoption assistance
program,
- Deduction for student loan interest,
- Deduction for tuition and fees, and
- Deduction for domestic production activities.
Use the worksheet in the instructions for line 9 of 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, and
(8) tuition and fees, or (9) domestic production activities because line 4 of
the worksheet already includes these amounts. Enter the total on Form 8815, line
9, as your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI).
| 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 MAGI. See Royalties included in MAGI under Education Savings Bond Program in Publication 550, chapter
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