Project 529 education savings growth with contribution limits, tax benefits, expected returns, and future college cost estimation.
A 529 is a state-run investment account whose earnings are federally tax-free when the money comes out for qualified education expenses, which makes it the standard college-saving vehicle in the US. This calculator takes a child's age, current balance, planned monthly contributions, an expected return, and an education inflation rate, then projects the balance when college starts against an estimate of what a year of college will cost then. The number people get wrong most often is the return: the projection is only as good as the assumptions you enter, and moving either rate by a point or two shifts the result by tens of thousands of dollars over an 18-year horizon.
A concrete input and expected output from the current implementation.
Input
Child age 10, college in 8 years; $5,000 already saved; $250 contributed per month; 7% expected annual return; 5% education inflation; current one-year college cost $25,000.
Expected output
Projected balance at college start: about $40,640, of which $29,000 is money contributed ($5,000 plus 96 monthly payments of $250) and about $11,640 is growth. Estimated cost of the first college year then: about $36,940. The balance covers roughly the first year, with about $3,700 to spare.
The starting $5,000 grows to about $8,590 at 7% over 8 years, and the monthly contributions build to about $32,050, so the account reaches about $40,640. Inflated at 5% for 8 years, today's $25,000 year of college costs about $36,940, leaving a surplus of roughly $3,700.
The calculator starts from the current balance and the child's age, then grows the account each period with the contributions you plan and the expected return you enter, while inflating the starting cost figure at the education-inflation rate you enter. It shows the projected balance at each college year beside the estimated cost, so the funding gap is visible before any money is committed.
Qualified withdrawals are federally tax-free, so the projection does not subtract tax from the growth, which is the whole advantage over a taxable brokerage account. Contributions are subject to the annual federal gift-tax exclusion, and a donor may front-load up to five years' worth of that exclusion in a single year. Withdrawals for anything else make the earnings share taxable as ordinary income plus a 10% federal penalty.
The money stays in the family: switch the beneficiary to any family member at any time, and qualified expenses include K-12 tuition, apprenticeships, and up to $10,000 of student-loan repayment. Since 2024, up to $35,000 can also roll into the beneficiary's Roth IRA once the account has been open 15 years. Otherwise, only the earnings share of a non-qualified withdrawal is taxed plus a 10% penalty.
Not federally: contributions are after-tax money, and the federal benefit is that the earnings grow and come out tax-free for qualified expenses. State treatment varies: most states with an income tax allow a deduction, usually capped and often only for contributions to that state's own plan, while California and New Jersey offer no deduction at all.
The example and behavioral notes were checked against the browser implementation. Standards and primary references below define the relevant format, formula, or platform behavior.
Calculate gross, operating, and net profit margins from cost and revenue with breakeven analysis.
Convert between annual salary and hourly rate with adjustments for work hours, overtime, and benefits.
Calculate sales tax amounts, tax-inclusive and tax-exclusive prices for any tax rate or jurisdiction.
Calculate return on investment from initial cost and final value with annualized ROI and comparison tables.
Convert between markup and margin percentages, calculate selling price, and compare pricing strategies.
Convert numeric amounts to written words for invoices, checks, and legal documents in multiple currencies.