An individual who pays college tuition directly on behalf of a decedent is not subject to which tax?

When an individual pays college tuition directly on behalf of a decedent, that payment qualifies as an educational expense that is exempt from gift tax, generation-skipping transfer tax, and estate tax.

Tuition payments made directly to an educational institution are considered qualified payments, which means they do not count towards the annual gift tax exclusion. This is significant because it enables individuals to support the education of another without incurring gift tax implications, regardless of the amount paid. Thus, if the payment is made for a decedent's educational expenses, it still falls under this exemption.

Furthermore, the generation-skipping transfer tax is applied when assets are transferred across generations, but direct tuition payments do not trigger this tax liability under the same reasoning as above. Finally, regarding estate tax, tuition payments can reduce the taxable estate amount since they may not be viewed as a taxable gift under the estate tax rules, further ensuring that they are not subject to estate tax.

This collective understanding of how direct tuition payments function within these tax contexts confirms that the individual is not subject to any of the listed taxes in relation to fulfilling this educational expense obligation.