College Planning

Saving For College

529 College Plans

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529 Fact Sheet
What is a 529 Plan?
  • A college savings plan sponsored by a state or state agency
  • Savings can be used for tuition, books, etc. at most accredited two and four–year colleges and universities, vocational-technical schools nationwide and eligible foreign institutions
  • U.S. residents of any state, who are 18 years of age or in some states, the age of majority, may invest in most state’s plans
Tax Advantages
  • Any earnings grow tax–deferred
  • Distributions for qualified higher education expenses are federal income tax–free
Investment Options
  • The 529 Plans managed by Fidelity offer a choice of investment options. The Age-Based Strategy invests in portfolios that reflect the approximate year a beneficiary is anticipated to turn 18 and begin college. You may choose an Age-Based Portfolio that invests in Fidelity Funds, Fidelity Index or Multi-Firm, which includes funds managed by several different companies, including Fidelity.
  • Fidelity also offers a Custom Strategy in which you may allocate your assets among all of the Static, Individual Fund and Age-Based portfolios.
Who Can Invest and Benefit?
  • Any US resident who is 18 years or older who has a Social Security or Tax ID number can open a 529 Plan account to save for a student's qualified higher education expenses
  • There are no income restrictions
  • The beneficiary can be changed to an eligible member of the original beneficiary’s family at any time without penalty1
  • The beneficiary doesn't need to be a child. Adults can use 529 accounts to save for their own qualified higher education expenses
  • Residents of any state can open a 529 Plan account
Investing By Grandparents and Others
  • Grandparents or others who wish to contribute to a child’s college savings plan may want to open a separate account
  • The account owner (Participant) of the account controls the account, including the distribution of assets
  • The account owner (Participant) can take advantage of possible gift and estate tax benefits
Gift and Estate Planning Benefits
  • Contribute up to $65,000 ($130,000 per married couple) per beneficiary in a single year without incurring a federal gift tax2
  • Once assets are in the account, they are generally considered to be out of the Participant’s estate
Professional Money Management
  • With 529 Plans managed by Fidelity, investors benefit from Fidelity's professional money management for all portfolios. Depending on your investment choice, 529 Portfolio assets may be invested entirely in Fidelity mutual funds, or in funds available from several different companies, including Fidelity.
Control of Assets and Distributions
  • The account owner (Participant) maintains ownership of the account assets until withdrawn
  • Distributions from a 529 account can be taken at any time for any reason; however, if the funds are not used for qualified higher education expenses, any earnings would be subject to federal income taxes at the Distributee’s rate and a 10% federal penalty tax
  • If the beneficiary receives a scholarship, the scholarship amount can be withdrawn from the 529 plan and the 10% federal penalty tax would not apply. However, the earnings would be subject to any other applicable taxes, including federal income tax
  • You have several ways to withdraw money (take a distribution) from your 529 account:
    1. Pay college bills online using Fidelity BillPay® for 529 accounts.
    2. Call a Fidelity representative at 800-544-1914.
    3. Complete the College Investing Plan Distribution form (PDF). This page will open in a popup window. .
  • For more information on how to withdraw money from your account, please visit FAQs about 529 Plans
  1. The new beneficiary of 529 assets must have one of the following relationships to the original beneficiary: 1) a son or daughter; 2) stepson or stepdaughter; 3) brother, sister, stepbrother, or stepsister; 4) father or mother or an ancestor of either; 5) stepfather or stepmother; 6) first cousin 7) son–in–law, daughter–in–law, father–in–law, mother–in–law, brother–in–law, or sister–in–law and 8) son or daughter of a brother or sister. The spouse of a family member is also considered a family member. However, if the new beneficiary is a member of a younger generation than the previous beneficiary, a federal generation–skipping tax may apply. The tax will apply in the year in which the money is distributed from an account.
  2. In order for an accelerated transfer to a 529 Plan (for a given Beneficiary) of $65,000 (or $130,000 combined for spouses who gift split) to result in no Federal transfer tax and no use of any portion of the applicable Federal transfer tax exemption and/or credit amounts, no further annual exclusion gifts and/or generation–skipping transfers to the same beneficiary may be made over the five–year period, and the transfer must be reported as a series of five equal annual transfers on Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return. If the donor dies within the five–year period, a portion of the transferred amount will be included in the donor’s estate for estate tax purposes.

The UNIQUE College Investing Plan, U.Fund College Investing Plan, Delaware College Investment Plan and the Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan are offered by the State of New Hampshire, MEFA, the State of Delaware and the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education, respectively, and managed by Fidelity Investments. If you or the designated beneficiary is not a New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Delaware or Arizona resident, you may want to consider, before investing, whether your state or the designated beneficiary's home state offers its residents a plan with alternate state tax advantages or other benefits.

Units of the Portfolios are municipal securities and may be subject to market volatility and fluctuation.

Please carefully consider the Plan's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing. For this and other information on any 529 College Savings Plan managed by Fidelity, contact Fidelity for a free Fact Kit, or view online. Read it carefully before you invest or send money.

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