ABLE accounts get prop. regs.

The IRS issued proposed regulations (REG-102837-15) providing guidance on Sec. 529A ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) tax-advantaged savings accounts benefiting young blind or disabled individuals. The new accounts share many of the features of Sec. 529 qualified tuition plans, including that they are established and maintained by a state or agency or instrumentality. But where Sec. 529 designated beneficiaries must participate in a qualified tuition program, ABLE account beneficiaries are recipients of Social Security benefits based on blindness or disability, or individuals certified as blind or disabled, with the blindness or disability in either case occurring before the individual reaches age 26. And where Sec. 529 distributions excludable from income are those spent on qualified higher education expenses, ABLE account distributions used to pay for a wide range of “qualified disability expenses,” including education, housing, transportation, employment training and support, and health care, are excludable from income.