An education IRA is an investment tool you can use to prepare for the cost of your children’s education. You can set up a separate IRA for each child and make contributions into these accounts until the children reach age eighteen. The annual contribution limit for education IRAs in 2006 is $2,000 per child; your total contributions into different accounts can equal no more than $2,000 per child. These contributions and their earnings can be withdrawn tax free if they are used to pay for qualified educational expenses related to enrollment at eligible elementary, secondary, post-secondary, and higher educational facilities. Any amount left over after you pay for one child’s education can be rolled into another child’s account. All savings must be withdrawn by the time the child reaches age thirty. You also cannot take a Hope education  credit on your tax return the same year in which you withdraw money from your education IRA.