College savings calculator
Enter the cost, the time and your assumptions, get what to save each month.
The growth, return and amounts are example inputs, not forecasts or typical figures — use your own. Each year's bill is paid at the start of the year.
How much should I save for college?
It depends on what you assume, so every assumption in the form is yours to change. Take the example values: one year costs $25,000 today, college starts in 10 years and lasts 4, the cost grows 4% a year, the account earns 6% a year and holds $5,000 now, and you want to cover 100% of the cost. The first year then costs $37,006 and the four years together $157,145. Because the money keeps earning while it waits to be spent, you need $143,552 in the account when college starts. Saving $820.45 a month for 10 years gets there; $300 a month reaches $58,261, so it would fall $85,291 short. Covering half of the cost instead needs $382.47 a month. These are example numbers, not forecasts or typical values.
How is the amount calculated?
Step 1: the cost of year k (k = 1, 2, …) is today's yearly cost × (1 + cost growth)^(years until college + k − 1), times the share you want to cover. Step 2: each year's bill is paid at the start of that year, and the account earns the same return while it waits, so the sum needed on the first day is the total of each bill ÷ (1 + r ÷ 12)^(12 × years waited), with r the yearly return. Step 3: the monthly saving is what fills the gap between that sum and what your current balance grows to, using the future value of a monthly annuity — deposits at the end of each month and the yearly return divided by 12, the same way as the savings goal calculator: (sum needed − balance × (1 + i)^n) × i ÷ ((1 + i)^n − 1), with i the monthly rate and n the months until college. Colleges often bill by semester, so paying the whole year on day one is slightly cautious. Taxes, fees and changes in the return are not included.
What can 529 money pay for?
A qualified tuition program (529 plan) lets the money grow for a beneficiary's education; IRS Publication 970, chapter 7, lists the qualified expenses. At a college or other eligible postsecondary school: tuition and fees; books, supplies and equipment required for enrollment or attendance; special needs services; a computer, peripheral equipment, software and internet access used mainly by the beneficiary while enrolled; room and board for a student enrolled at least half-time, up to the school's allowance in its cost of attendance or the actual charge for housing the school owns or operates; fees, books and equipment for a registered apprenticeship; and up to $10,000 in total of student loan principal or interest for the beneficiary and up to $10,000 for each sibling. For kindergarten through grade 12, qualified expenses include tuition, curriculum and instructional materials, online educational materials, outside tutoring by an unrelated qualified tutor, certain test fees, dual enrollment fees and educational therapies for students with disabilities, and the K–12 expenses that 529 distributions can cover are capped at $20,000 per beneficiary per year for taxable years beginning after 2025 (IRC §529(e)(3), as amended by Public Law 119-21); the cap was $10,000 through 2025. Recognized postsecondary credentialing expenses were added for distributions after July 4, 2025.
Is there a tax deduction or a gift tax limit for 529 contributions?
The IRS says you cannot deduct contributions to a qualified tuition program on your federal return, and there are no income limits on who may contribute. A contribution is a completed gift to the beneficiary. For 2026 the gift tax annual exclusion is $19,000 per recipient (IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.42). If you put in more than $19,000 for one beneficiary in a year, you may elect to treat up to $95,000 of it — five times the annual exclusion — as given evenly over five years, reporting it on Form 709 (IRC §529(c)(2)(B); the Form 709 instructions, line B for 529 plans). Anything above $95,000 in a year counts as a gift that year. Contributions cannot be more than needed for the beneficiary's qualified expenses: a plan must have safeguards against that (IRC §529(b)(6)), so check your own plan's account limit.
What if there is money left in the 529?
You can change the beneficiary to a member of the family without income tax (Pub. 970 lists the relatives, from spouse, children and siblings to first cousins). A withdrawal that is not for qualified expenses makes the earnings part taxable income and generally adds a 10% additional tax, with exceptions such as the beneficiary's death or disability and tax-free scholarships. Since 2024 a limited amount can also go to a Roth IRA for the beneficiary: the transfer must be made directly from the plan to the Roth IRA; the 529 account must have been open for more than 15 years; the amount can include only contributions (and their earnings) made more than 5 years before the transfer; each year's transfer is limited to the Roth IRA contribution limit — the IRA dollar limit, $7,500 for 2026 (IRS Notice 2025-67), but not more than the beneficiary's taxable compensation — minus contributions to the beneficiary's other IRAs that year (IRC §529(c)(3)(E) and §408A(c)(2); Pub. 590-A); and the total over the beneficiary's lifetime is $35,000. Ask your plan how it handles these transfers.
An estimate for planning only — not tax or investment advice; investments can lose value, and your plan's rules and your state's tax treatment may differ. Sources, checked October 7, 2026: IRS Publication 970 (2025), chapter 7; IRC §529; Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.42; Instructions for Form 709; Publication 590-A (2025); Notice 2025-67. Related: the savings goal calculator, compound interest calculator, future value calculator, student loan calculator and inflation calculator. How we check our calculators.