529 calculator: how much to save for college
The monthly saving that reaches your college goal by the year it starts, and what that saving does to the date you reach your FIRE number.
What to save for college
Put in a year of college
The box for a year of college is empty on purpose: this page states no average cost. Put in what you expect a year to cost, in today's money, or start from a round example.
College
You
Not modeled: state tax deductions (many states offer one, and they differ by state), the effect on financial aid (FAFSA), a plan's own fees and how it invests, and interest on a cost met with debt. Money in the plan is left out of your number.
The link carries your figures after the #, so you can save or share it. Your figures are not sent to us.
The rules, as the IRS states them
- What counts. Earnings are not subject to federal tax when used for the qualified education expenses of the designated beneficiary, such as tuition, fees, books, as well as room and board at an eligible education institution, and tuition at elementary or secondary schools. Contributions are not deductible on the federal return.
- School before college. Qualified expenses at an elementary or secondary school are limited to $20,000 a year from all of the beneficiary's 529 plans.
- Not used for education. A taxable distribution has its earnings included in income and generally a 10% additional tax on that amount, with exceptions such as the beneficiary's death, disability or a tax-free scholarship.
- Leftover money. The beneficiary may roll over to their own Roth IRA, tax-free, if it is a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer, within the Roth IRA annual contribution limit and a $35,000 lifetime limit, from a 529 account open at least 15 years.
- Gifts to the plan. The gift tax annual exclusion is $19,000 per person you give to for gifts made in 2026. If you contribute more than that to a 529 for one person, you may elect to treat up to 5 times the exclusion ($95,000) as given evenly over 5 years.
Sources, all the IRS: 529 plans: questions and answers, Topic no. 313, qualified tuition programs, Publication 970, gift tax questions and answers and the Instructions for Form 709. The Form 709 instructions read are the 2025 edition, which give the same exclusion as 2026. Rules change; check the IRS pages before you act.
Questions people ask
- How much should I save in a 529 for college?
- This page does not say what college costs, because published averages describe other people's choices. You put in what you expect a year to cost, in today's money, when it starts and how many years it runs. The page works out the level monthly saving that reaches that goal, with the cost rising above inflation and the plan earning a return you can both change.
- What does saving for college do to my FIRE date?
- The monthly saving comes out of what you would otherwise put toward your number (the yearly cost of the life you chose divided by the 4% withdrawal rate, a figure from US market history over 30-year retirements; a longer retirement may need a lower rate). The page runs your own path twice, month by month in today's money, and shows how much later you reach it. Money in the 529 is not counted toward your number, because it is spent on college.
- What happens if the money is not used for education?
- For a withdrawal that is more than the beneficiary's qualified education expenses, the earnings part is included in income and, generally, a 10% additional tax applies to it, with exceptions the IRS lists, such as the beneficiary's death or disability or a tax-free scholarship. The rollover to a Roth IRA, below, is one way a leftover balance can move without that tax.
- Does this include state tax deductions or financial aid?
- No. Many states offer an income tax deduction or credit for contributions, and the rules differ by state. A 529 can also count in financial aid formulas (FAFSA). Both change what a family really pays, and neither is modeled here.
- Which 529 plan should I pick?
- This page does not pick one. Plans differ by state, fees and investment options. It works out how much to save, not where to keep it.
Every cost on this page is the one you put in. The cost rise and the returns are assumptions you can change, not forecasts or averages. This is not tax or financial advice; a tax professional can say how the rules apply to you.