Thanks, I've added these circumstances where it makes sense to the opening paragraph.Since we don't have a page on AOTC, I'm wondering whether this could be converted into a general page that discusses the AOTC and its requirements, with the gift approach as a tactic.
It's been a while since I've had a kid in college, are there any FAFSA or financial aid implications that a reader should be aware of?
The decision criteria are kind of buried in the article. Being explicit higher up about the circumstances where this makes sense is worthwhile. Something like (draft language):
This approach makes sense if:
* you trust your student
* you're not already making gifts to them
* assets are titled correctly to access $38k limit
* ...
I was thinking about a generic AOTC page, but I think that buries the lead. Already this draft wiki page is a top search result for "backdoor AOTC" in google, and we might lose that if we retitle it as a generic AOTC page with backdoor as one section. I don't think there isn't much interesting to say about the regular use of AOTC -- it's a tax credit one can claim if eligible. Lots of other places online describe it.
Statistics: Posted by MoreTaxes — Wed Feb 04, 2026 1:41 pm — Replies 10 — Views 287