529 Fact Sheet
What is a 529 Plan?
  • A college savings plan sponsored by a state or 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 any state's plan1
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: an Age Based Strategy, which invests in an Age-Based Portfolio that corresponds to a beneficiary's birth year. Fidelity also offers a Custom Strategy, which gives the ability to customize investments with a mix of equity, fixed income, or money market investments. For both the Age-Based and Custom Strategies, investors choose between portfolios that invest in Actively Managed Funds or Index Funds
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 penalty2
  • 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 $60,000 ($120,000 per married couple) per beneficiary in a single year without incurring a federal gift tax3
  • 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
  • 529 Portfolio assets are 100% invested in Fidelity mutual funds4
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 tax2
  • If the beneficiary receives a scholarship, the scholarship amount can be withdrawn from the 529 plan and the 10% federal penalty tax would not apply2. However the earnings would be subject to any other applicable taxes, including federal income tax.
  • Withdrawing money from any of the 529 plans is easy, simply fill out the Distribution Form (PDF) with instructions on where the money should be sent, and submit to Fidelity for immediate processing
    -OR-
  • If the distribution is going directly to the Participant or Beneficiary (i.e. not the school) the Participant can call a rep to process the distribution over the phone
  1. If you or the designated beneficiary are not a resident of the state in which one of the five plans are offered, you may want to consider, before investing, whether you or the beneficiary's home state offers its residents a plan with alternate state tax advantages or other benefits.
  2. 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.
  3. Any earnings on nonqualified distributions will be subject to federal income taxes at the distributee's rate as well as a 10% federal penalty tax.
  4. In California, the Social Choice Portfolio, managed by Geode Capital Management, LLC, invests directly in individual securities. See Fact Kit for more details.

The UNIQUE College Investing Plan, U.Fund College Investing Plan, Delaware College Investment Plan, Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan, and ScholarShare®College Savings Plan are offered by the State of New Hampshire, the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA), the State of Delaware, the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education, and the ScholarShare Investment Board, an agency of the State of California, respectively, and managed by Fidelity Investments. If you or the designated beneficiary are not a New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Delaware, Arizona, or California resident, you may want to consider, before investing, whether your 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.

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