Thumbs Up: Paying for College

There's a whole raft of college savingsplans out there, each with itsown set of pluses. One less-publicizedsavings tactic is buying individualstocks for yourself and giving them toyour children when they're ready togo off to college. There are sometempting tax breaks with this strategy,including the probability that yourchild will pay a capital gains tax ofjust 5% on any profits the stocks generate.In fact, in 2008, the capitalgains tax for the lowest tax bracketwill dip to zero for that year only,rivaling the tax exemption on assetsin 529 funds and Coverdell accountswhen they are withdrawn to pay forcollege expenses. Talk to your financialadvisor about the details.