# Will my 529 plan cover college?

Projects a 529 college savings plan until college starts and how much of the rising cost of college it covers, with the monthly saving that would cover it all.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/529-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/529-calculator.json
- Version: 00eb038684db

## Default answer

Example with the default inputs (Child’s age now 5, College starts at age 18, Years of college 4, Type of college Public four-year, in-state: $11,950, College costs rise each year by 3%, Saved so far $10,000.00, You add each month $250.00, Expected yearly return 6%): Saving $250.00 a month from $10,000.00, you’ll have $79,517.08 when college starts, covering 100% of the $73,418.38 it will cost.

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| age | Child’s age now | The child’s age today, in whole years. |
| start | College starts at age | The child’s age when college starts. |
| years | Years of college | How many years of college to pay for. |
| college | Type of college | A type of college with its average tuition and fees for 2025-26 (College Board), or your own yearly cost. |
| cost | Yearly cost today | What one year of college costs today: tuition, fees, and any housing, food, and books you plan to pay. |
| costgrowth | College costs rise each year by | The yearly rise in the cost of college, from today until the last year of college. |
| saved | Saved so far | What is in the 529 plan today. |
| monthly | You add each month | The amount added at the end of each month until college starts. |
| rate | Expected yearly return | The yearly return of the plan’s investments. It stays the same every year. |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| atStart | You’ll have when college starts | The balance on the day college starts, before the first year is paid. |
| totalCost | College will cost | Every college year’s cost added up, at the prices of the year it is due. |
| covered | Share of the cost your plan covers | What the plan pays ÷ what college costs. |
| shortfall | Left to pay from elsewhere | The part of the cost the plan cannot pay. |
| needed | Monthly saving to cover it all | The monthly amount, until college starts, that would pay every college year in full. |
| left | Left after college | The balance after the last year of college. |

## Method

Each month the balance grows at (1 + R)^(1/12) − 1 and your saving is added until college starts; at the start of each college year, its cost, today’s cost × (1 + cost growth)^(years from now), is paid from the plan.

## Assumptions

- The return and the rise in college costs stay the same every year.
- The presets are average published tuition and fees for 2025-26 (College Board); housing, food, and books are not included. Pick your own cost to add them.
- Saving stops when college starts. Each year’s cost is paid at the start of that college year.
- Financial aid, scholarships, taxes, and plan fees are not included. Withdrawals for qualified education expenses are tax-free.
- This is an estimate for planning, not financial advice.

## Worked examples

1. age = 14, start = 18, years = 4, college = custom, cost = $10,000.00, costgrowth = 0%, saved = $12,000.00, monthly = $500.00, rate = 0% gives atStart = $36,000.00, totalCost = $40,000.00, covered = 90%, shortfall = $4,000.00, needed = $583.33, left = $0.00. Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: 12,000 + 48 × 500 = 36,000; (40,000 − 12,000) ÷ 48.
2. age = 17, start = 18, years = 4, college = private, costgrowth = 0%, saved = $0.00, monthly = $0.00, rate = 0% gives totalCost = $180,000.00, covered = 0%, shortfall = $180,000.00, needed = $15,000.00. Source: College Board 2025-26 average private nonprofit four-year tuition and fees, $45,000; 4 × 45,000; 180,000 ÷ 12.
3. age = 5, start = 18, years = 4, college = public-in-state, costgrowth = 3%, saved = $10,000.00, monthly = $250.00, rate = 6% gives atStart = $79,517.08, totalCost = $73,418.38, covered = 100%, needed = $197.39, left = $15,459.48. Source: College Board 2025-26 public four-year in-state $11,950; month by month in content.mdx, checked in Python.

## FAQ

### What is a 529 plan?

A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan for education, named after section 529 of the tax code and sponsored by states or schools. There are two kinds: education savings plans, where your money is invested and can rise or fall, and prepaid tuition plans, which lock in tuition at today’s prices at certain colleges. This calculator is for an education savings plan.

### What can I pay for with a 529 plan?

Qualified higher education expenses, such as tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment, and room and board for a student enrolled at least half-time. Some K-12 tuition and student loan payments (up to $10,000 over a lifetime) can qualify too. Earnings grow tax-free, and withdrawals for qualified expenses are not taxed.

### What if I take money out for something else?

The earnings part of a withdrawal that is more than the qualified expenses is taxable, and it usually carries a 10% additional tax as well. Your own contributions come back without tax.

### What do the college presets include?

They are the College Board’s average published (sticker) tuition and fees for 2025-26: $4,150 at a public two-year college, $11,950 at a public four-year college in-state, $31,880 out-of-state, and $45,000 at a private nonprofit four-year college. Housing, food, and books are not included, and many students pay less after grants. Choose "My own yearly cost" to enter a full budget.

### What happens to money left over?

You can change the beneficiary to another family member, keep it for later education, or, since 2024, roll some of it into the beneficiary’s Roth IRA: the 529 account must have been open at least 15 years, each year’s rollover counts toward the Roth IRA limit, and the lifetime total is $35,000.

### How is the monthly saving to cover it all worked out?

It is the monthly amount whose value today, at your expected return, plus what you have saved, equals the value today of every college year’s cost. With a 0% return and no cost rise, it is simply (total cost − saved) ÷ months until college.

## Sources

- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov: An Introduction to 529 Plans (Investor Bulletin). https://www.investor.gov/additional-resources/general-resources/publications-research/info-sheets/introduction-529-plans
- Internal Revenue Service, Topic no. 313, Qualified tuition programs (QTPs). https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc313
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, chapter 7. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p970
- College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2025, Highlights: average published tuition and fees, 2025-26. https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/college-pricing/highlights