Louisiana's Student Tuition Assistance Revenue Trust Program, commonly referred to as the "START Saving Program," is an innovative college savings plan designed to help families contend with the future high cost of their children's postsecondary education. The program is administered by a governing body composed of the Louisiana Student Financial Assistance Commission, the State Treasurer and a member of the House of Representatives and State Senate. Deposits made to individual accounts will be pooled in the state treasury and managed by the Treasurer.

A savings account, called an Educational Assistance Account, may be opened on behalf of a child by a parent, grandparent, legal guardian or a person claiming the child as a dependent on their tax return. Participants in the program are able to save at their own pace, in amounts they can afford, and still have their money professionally managed. In addition, as an incentive to save, the State of Louisiana will allocate funds to your account at a variable rate, depending upon the amount you deposit and your adjusted gross income.

Features of the START Saving program include:

• All accounts earn interest at competitive rates, and earnings used to pay the cost of education are not taxed by the state.
• Federal taxes on earnings are deferred and taxed at the beneficiary's tax rate when disbursed.
• Principal and interest accumulated in an account may be used to pay the qualified higher education expenses of the beneficiary at any accredited college or university (in or out-of-state), at a state technical college, or eligible proprietary school.
• There are no fees involved with a START account and no restrictions on the frequency of deposits.
• As a qualified state program, the START Saving Program will be tax exempt, which means taxes will not be levied against the program to reduce the return on investments.

More information about the START Saving Program