529 Plan Calculator
Grow the entered 529 balance and monthly contributions until college begins, then model each college year sequentially. Each annual cost is withdrawn before the remaining account receives that year’s return. This page covers “529 calculator”.
How to use this calculator
Enter current 529 balance, fixed monthly contribution, years until college, annual return, annual cost today, education-cost inflation, and college years.
Review qualified-expense rules, plan fees, market risk, state tax treatment, financial aid, contribution limits, beneficiary changes, and unused funds.
Read balance at college start, each annual cost, withdrawals paid, ending balance, and cumulative funding gap or surplus.
Formula
College-year cost = current annual cost × (1 + education inflation)^(years until college + year index). At each college-year start, withdraw up to that cost, track shortfall, then grow the remaining balance for one year.
Worked example
If $100 remains at college start and year 1 costs $80, that withdrawal leaves $20; at a 10% return, $22 is available before the year 2 withdrawal.
Assumptions and limits
- Contributions stop when college begins, annual costs are withdrawn at the start of each school year, and qualified expenses, taxes, fees, aid, and plan eligibility are not determined.
- 529 Plan Calculator treats the entered values as estimates and does not infer missing project, account, or personal details.
- Calculations retain working precision except where the cited method requires an intermediate rounding step; displayed values are then formatted separately. Source rules and dated rates must be rechecked when they change.
Sources
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: An Introduction to 529 Plans529 plan structure, fees, tax considerations, and risks. Reviewed 2026-08-14.
- Internal Revenue Service: Qualified Tuition ProgramsFederal qualified-tuition-program tax rules. Reviewed 2026-08-14.
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov: Compound Interest CalculatorOfficial formula or method source used by this calculator. Reviewed 2026-08-14.
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Verification
How this calculator is checked
Trust comes from reproducible evidence, not model confidence. You can inspect the formula, assumptions, worked example, and cited sources on this page.
- Versioned calculationFormula logic is kept separate from the interface and covered by automated registry and behavior checks.
- Cited evidenceSources linked for independent checking: 3.
- Transparent AI useAI may assist drafting or adversarial review. Agreement between models is not proof, and no human expert review is claimed unless a named reviewer is shown.
Frequently asked questions
How does the 529 Plan Calculator work?
College-year cost = current annual cost × (1 + education inflation)^(years until college + year index). At each college-year start, withdraw up to that cost, track shortfall, then grow the remaining balance for one year.
What information should I enter in the 529 Plan Calculator?
Enter current 529 balance, fixed monthly contribution, years until college, annual return, annual cost today, education-cost inflation, and college years, then verify qualified-expense rules, plan fees, market risk, state tax treatment, financial aid, contribution limits, beneficiary changes, and unused funds.
What should I verify before using this 529 Plan Calculator result?
Contributions stop when college begins, annual costs are withdrawn at the start of each school year, and qualified expenses, taxes, fees, aid, and plan eligibility are not determined.
Last updated 2026-08-25 · college-year-cashflow-v2 · content-2026-08-14 · Published by YunFanLabs