529 College Savings Calculator

It depends on the college type, your child's age, and your assumed return. As a worked example: for a newborn headed to a public in-state university (projected 4-year cost of about $321,000 with 5% inflation over 18 years), you would need roughly $785 per month at a 6% net return starting from $0. For a private college (projected near $680,000), the same setup needs about $1,665 per month. Use the Monthly Solver tab above with your own numbers — the return is an assumption you control, not a guarantee.

Using 2025-26 College Board averages with 5% annual college inflation: a public in-state university averaging $30,990 per year today projects to about $74,580 for the freshman year starting in 18 years, or roughly $321,000 for all 4 years combined. A private nonprofit college at $65,470 per year today projects to about $157,600 for the freshman year, or about $679,000 over 4 years. College inflation has historically run 4-6% per year, above general CPI. The College Cost tab projects any horizon and 4-year totals.

A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged investment account for education. You contribute after-tax dollars, the money grows tax-deferred, and withdrawals are federal-tax-free when used for qualified education expenses (tuition, fees, room and board, books, required technology, and up to $10,000 per year of K-12 tuition). There is no federal deduction for contributions, but over 30 states offer a state income tax deduction or credit. There are no annual IRS contribution limits and no income limits to open one; gift-tax rules apply to large contributions.

Superfunding (front-loading) uses a special 529 rule letting you contribute up to 5 years of annual gift-tax exclusions at once without using your lifetime exemption. For 2026 the annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient, so superfunding allows $95,000 from one person or $190,000 from a married couple per beneficiary in a single year. You elect to spread the gift evenly over 5 years by filing IRS Form 709. You cannot make additional gifts to the same beneficiary during those 5 years without eating into your lifetime exemption (unless the exclusion rises). The Superfunding tab checks your lump sum against the limits and compares lump-sum vs monthly investing.

For money you will actually spend on education, usually yes. A 529 grows tax-deferred and qualified withdrawals are tax-free. In a taxable account the same growth faces taxes — either annually on dividends or as capital gains at withdrawal. Example: $500/month for 18 years at 6% grows to about $190,480 in a 529, versus about $178,100 after a 15% capital-gains tax on gains in a taxable account — a gap of roughly $12,400. The 529 vs Taxable tab runs this comparison with your own return, capital-gains rate, and optional annual dividend drag.

34 states plus Washington D.C. offer a state income tax deduction or credit for 529 contributions (2025 tax year). Most require you to use your own state's plan, but six states — Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, and Pennsylvania — give the benefit for contributions to any state's plan. Limits range from $500 per taxpayer (Rhode Island) to $17,000 per beneficiary (Pennsylvania); Colorado, New Mexico, South Carolina, and West Virginia allow a full deduction with no cap. Indiana offers a 20% tax credit up to $1,500 instead of a deduction. The State Tax Benefit tab has the full 50-state table — limits change yearly, so verify with your state's plan.

Can I use 529 for K-12 tuition, a laptop, or room and board? Yes to all three, within limits. Qualified expenses include tuition and fees at eligible colleges (domestic and many international), room and board up to the school's cost-of-attendance allowance, books, supplies, required equipment and computers, up to $10,000 per year per beneficiary of K-12 tuition, up to $10,000 lifetime of student loan repayment per beneficiary (plus $10,000 per sibling), registered apprenticeship programs, and graduate or professional school. Nonqualified withdrawals trigger income tax plus a 10% federal penalty on the earnings portion.

You have options: change the beneficiary to another family member (sibling, cousin, even yourself), use it for graduate school or apprenticeships, roll up to $35,000 lifetime into the beneficiary's Roth IRA (SECURE 2.0 — account open 15+ years, annual rollovers capped at the Roth IRA contribution limit, contributions from the last 5 years excluded), or withdraw for non-education use and pay income tax plus a 10% penalty on earnings only. The rollover option greatly reduces the risk of overfunding.

A 529 savings plan is the most flexible: no income limits, very high total balance caps ($235,000-$596,000 by state), and state tax benefits. A Coverdell ESA also grows tax-free but is capped at $2,000 per year per beneficiary with income phase-outs — the classic 529 vs ESA tradeoff is flexibility and contribution room (529) versus investment choice (ESA). Prepaid tuition plans lock in today's tuition rates at in-state public schools but are restrictive (usually in-state only) and less portable. For most families saving monthly, the 529 savings plan wins on flexibility and limits; compare its tax-free growth against a taxable account in the 529 vs Taxable tab.

Modestly. So does a 529 affect financial aid? A parent-owned 529 counts as a parental asset on the FAFSA, reducing aid eligibility by at most 5.64% of the account value — a $50,000 balance cuts aid by no more than $2,820. Since the 2024-25 FAFSA simplification, grandparent-owned 529 distributions no longer count as student income at all, making grandparent contributions an especially efficient strategy. A 529's small aid impact is far outweighed by its tax-free growth for most families.

Yes, one account per child is the standard approach. Each account has its own beneficiary, investment timeline, and contribution limits, and you can move money between siblings' accounts tax-free if one child needs less. Grandparents can also open their own 529 for a grandchild, which keeps the asset off the parents' FAFSA entirely. For monthly budgeting, run the Monthly Solver tab once per child with each child's years-to-college.

No federal tax on withdrawals used for qualified education expenses — both contributions and earnings come out tax-free. For nonqualified withdrawals, the earnings portion (not your contributions) is subject to income tax plus a 10% federal penalty, with some exceptions (scholarship, disability, death). You never get a federal income tax deduction for contributing; the tax benefit is tax-free growth and tax-free qualified withdrawals, plus any state deduction or credit.

No — 529 contributions are never deductible on your federal income tax return. The federal benefit is entirely on the back end: tax-deferred growth and tax-free withdrawals for qualified expenses. The upfront deduction exists only at the state level, and only in the 30+ states that offer one. Don't confuse the two: a state deduction lowers your state tax bill this year; nothing lowers your federal bill this year.

Use a conservative planning assumption and test a range. Common assumptions are 4-5% (conservative), 6% (moderate, typical for age-based portfolios over 10-18 years), and 7-8% (aggressive). Returns are never guaranteed — this calculator treats the return as your input, not a promise. The expense ratio directly drags the return: a 0.50% expense ratio on a 7% gross return leaves 6.50% net, which on $500/month over 18 years costs roughly $14,000 in lost growth versus a 0.10% ratio. Enter your plan's actual expense ratio in the Projector tab.

Yes to both. Anyone can open a 529 with themselves as beneficiary (common for graduate school or career retraining), and you can change the beneficiary to another qualifying family member at any time with no tax consequences — siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, parents, even a spouse all qualify. Changing to a lower generation (e.g., grandchild) can trigger gift-tax considerations, so check the rules before a skip-generation change.

Pick a plan — usually your own state's plan if it offers a tax deduction or credit, otherwise shop nationally for low fees (expense ratios under 0.20% are excellent). Open the account online directly with the plan (no broker needed), choose an age-based portfolio if you want it to get more conservative automatically as college nears, set up automatic monthly contributions, and name a successor owner. Then run the Projector tab yearly to check you're on track. This page is educational only and is not financial advice.