WASHINGTON (AP)—In a budget that calls for few tax changes, President Reagan today recommended a tax break to help parents save to pay for a college education for their children.

The president, in submitting his 1989 budget to Congress, said he will ask lawmakers to make tax-exempt the interest on savings bonds that are redeemed to finance post-secondary education. This would cost the government an estimated $10 million during the 12 months beginning next Oct. 1.

The tax benefit would be targeted for lower- and middle-income families and would be eliminated as earnings exceed a certain level.

“The costs of post-secondary education have increased substantially in recent years, often faster than inflation,” Reagan said in his written message to Congress. “As a result, parents may have difficulty bearing these costs unless they establish a savings program for this purpose when their children are young.”

The biggest new revenue-raiser recommended by the president would require all state and local government employees to pay the Medicare hospital-insurance tax. The tax, which most Americans already pay, is 1.45 percent of the first $45,000 earned. The levy is collected as part of the Social Security tax.

The tax already is collected from state and local workers hired after March 31, 1986. Reagan said workers hired before that date also should be required to pay in order to reduce a drain on the Medicare system.

The change, which Congress has rejected several times, would bring in $1.6 billion in 1989.

Repeal of the “windfall-profit” tax on the oil industry, which Congress also has rejected, is included in the president’s budget. Reagan says the tax, which was imposed when oil prices were rising, is an unnecessary paperwork burden on the industry at a time of declining prices.

The oil industry would get a $52-million tax break under the budget if Congress goes along with a proposed modification of rules affecting the depletion allowance.

Other revenue proposals:

_A permanent tax break for owners of shares in mutual funds, who would be affected by a 1986 tax change that limits miscellaneous itemized deductions to those that exceed 2 percent of adjusted gross income. Congress voted an exception to mutual-fund deductions for 1987 only.

_Permit U.S. companies to allocate at least two-thirds of their total research and development expenditures to domestic operations. This would save them about $600 million in 1989.

_Make permanent a temporary tax credit for research and experimentation, saving U.S. companies $400 million next year.

_Repeal a provision imposed by Congress that reduces air-ticket taxes and aviation-fuel levies when federal spending for airport and airways improvements drops below a certain level.

_Increase user fees incurred in federal regulation of nuclear power plants.

_Change the method of calculating a special fee on imported products, costing the government about $100 million next year. The modification of the 0.17-percent fee is necessary to bring the United States into compliance with international trade agreements.