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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>66160</law_id><section_number>23.1-700</section_number><catch_line>Definitions</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>2.2-2745</reference><reference>2.2-3705.4</reference><reference>2.2-3711</reference><reference>20-124.2</reference><reference>23.1-1006</reference><reference>23.1-306</reference><reference>23.1-704</reference><reference>30-133</reference><reference>51.1-500</reference><reference>51.1-505.01</reference><reference>58.1-322.02</reference><reference>58.1-322.03</reference><reference>58.1-344.4</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="23.1">Institutions of Higher Education; Other Educational and Cultural Institutions</unit><unit label="subtitle" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="II">Students and Campus</unit><unit label="chapter" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="7">Commonwealth Savers Plan and Able Savings Trust Accounts</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">ABLE <span class="dictionary">savings trust account</span></span>&#x201D; means an account established pursuant to this chapter to assist individuals and families to save private funds to support individuals with disabilities to maintain health, independence, and quality of life, with such account used to apply distributions for qualified disability expenses for an eligible individual, as both such terms are defined in &#xA7;&#xA0;529A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or other applicable federal <span class="dictionary">law</span>.
		&#x201C;Board&#x201D; means the <span class="dictionary">governing board</span> of the <span class="dictionary">Plan</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">College <span class="dictionary">savings trust account</span></span>&#x201D; means an account established pursuant to this chapter to assist individuals and families to enhance the accessibility and affordability of higher education, with such account used to apply distributions from the account toward qualified higher education expenses, as that term is defined in &#xA7;&#xA0;529 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or other applicable federal <span class="dictionary">law</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Contributor</span>&#x201D; means a person who contributes money to a <span class="dictionary">savings trust account</span> established pursuant to this chapter on behalf of a <span class="dictionary">qualified beneficiary</span> and who is listed as the owner of the <span class="dictionary">savings trust account</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Non-Virginia public and accredited nonprofit independent or private institutions of higher education</span>&#x201D; means public and accredited nonprofit independent or private institutions of higher education that are located outside the Commonwealth.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Plan</span>&#x201D; means the Commonwealth Savers <span class="dictionary">Plan</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Prepaid tuition contract</span>&#x201D; means the contract or account entered into by the board and a <span class="dictionary">purchaser</span> pursuant to this chapter for the advance payment of tuition at a fixed, guaranteed level for a <span class="dictionary">qualified beneficiary</span> to attend any <span class="dictionary">public institution of higher education</span> to which the <span class="dictionary">qualified beneficiary</span> is admitted.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Public institution of higher education</span>&#x201D; has the same meaning as provided in &#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Definitions" href="/23.1-100/">23.1-100</a>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Purchaser</span>&#x201D; means a person who makes or is obligated to make advance payments in accordance with a <span class="dictionary">prepaid tuition contract</span> and who is listed as the owner of the <span class="dictionary">prepaid tuition contract</span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Qualified beneficiary</span>&#x201D; or &#x201C;beneficiary&#x201D; means (i) a resident of the Commonwealth, as determined by the board, who is the beneficiary of a <span class="dictionary">prepaid tuition contract</span> and who may apply advance tuition payments to tuition as set forth in this chapter; (ii) a beneficiary of a <span class="dictionary">prepaid tuition contract</span> purchased by a resident of the Commonwealth, as determined by the board, who may apply advance tuition payments to tuition as set forth in this chapter; or (iii) a beneficiary of a <span class="dictionary">savings trust account</span> established pursuant to this chapter.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Savings trust account</span>&#x201D; means an <span class="dictionary">ABLE <span class="dictionary">savings trust account</span></span> or a <span class="dictionary">college <span class="dictionary">savings trust account</span></span>.
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Savings trust agreement</span>&#x201D; means the agreement entered into by the board and a <span class="dictionary">contributor</span> that establishes a <span class="dictionary">savings trust account</span>.
		&#x201C;Tuition&#x201D; means the quarter, semester, or term charges imposed for undergraduate tuition by any <span class="dictionary">public institution of higher education</span> and all mandatory fees required as a condition of enrollment of all students. At the discretion of the board, a beneficiary may apply benefits under a <span class="dictionary">prepaid tuition contract</span> and distributions from a <span class="dictionary">college <span class="dictionary">savings trust account</span></span> (i) toward graduate-level tuition and (ii) toward qualified higher education expenses, as that term is defined in 26 U.S.C. &#xA7;&#xA0;529 or any other applicable section of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.</p></section></text><history>1994, c. 661, &#xA7; 23-38.75; 1997, cc. 785, 861; 1998, cc. 61, 85; 1999, cc. 485, 518; 2000, cc. 382, 400; 2015, cc. 227, 311; 2016, c. 588; 2019, cc. 803, 804; 2024, c. 217.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
