Using the 2012 wave National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, this study examines the effect that parents\u27 student debt have on their decision to use tax advantage education vehicles to save for their children\u27s college. We also examine parental decisions on obtaining student loans on behalf of their children. The results show that parents who report having student loans are 61% less likely than those that report no student loan debt to use tax-advantaged education saving vehicles. However, we find no difference in the effect of having student loans on the decision to obtain debt to fund their children\u27s college education
