As the prices at some faculties close to $100,000 a 12 months, households want a financial savings technique they’ll financial institution on.

Financial consultants and plan buyers agree that 529 school financial savings plans are a sensible selection for a lot of. And, as of 2024, there are much more advantages, together with greater contribution limits and the flexibleness to roll unused cash right into a Roth particular person retirement account freed from tax penalties.

“There are three pretty significant changes this year,” stated Vivian Tsai, senior director of schooling financial savings at TIAA and chair emeritus for the College Savings Foundation, a nonprofit that gives public coverage help for 529 plans.

Whether the funds are for school or vocational research, she stated, “529 plans are better now than they’ve ever been before and they’re more flexible.”

Here’s a breakdown of every little thing it’s essential know.

1. Tax deductions or credit for contributions

Even earlier than current adjustments, there have been already many benefits to a 529 plan. In greater than half of all U.S. states, you will get a tax deduction or credit score for contributions. Earnings develop on a tax-advantaged foundation, and once you withdraw the cash, it’s tax-free if the funds are used for certified schooling bills.

Just a few states additionally supply extra advantages, corresponding to scholarships or matching grants, to their residents in the event that they put money into their house state’s 529 plan.

2. New Roth IRA rollover guidelines

As of 2024, households can roll over unused 529 plan funds to the account beneficiary’s Roth IRA, with out triggering earnings taxes or penalties, so long as the 529 plan has been open for no less than 15 years.

That change follows the Secure Act of 2019, which let 529 customers put a few of the funds towards their scholar mortgage tab: as much as $10,000 for every plan beneficiary, in addition to one other $10,000 for every of the beneficiary’s siblings.

More from Personal Finance:
Ed Dept. declares highest scholar mortgage rates of interest
Incoming school college students could owe $37,000 by commencement
Students are nonetheless ready on monetary assist amid FAFSA points

Previously, tax-advantaged withdrawals had been restricted to certified schooling bills, corresponding to tuition, charges, books, and room and board. The restrictions loosened in recent times to incorporate persevering with schooling courses, apprenticeship applications and scholar mortgage funds. But now, 529s supply rather more flexibility, even for those that by no means go to varsity, Chris Lynch, president of tuition financing at TIAA just lately instructed CNBC.

“A point of resistance that potential participants have had is the limitation around, what happens if my kid gets a scholarship or decides they’re not going to college,” Lynch stated.

In the latter case, you can switch the funds to a different beneficiary or withdraw them and pay taxes and a penalty on the earnings. If your scholar earns a scholarship, you possibly can sometimes withdraw as much as the quantity of the scholarship penalty-free.

However, the additional advantage of with the ability to convert any leftover funds right into a Roth IRA tax-free after 15 years, as much as a restrict of $35,000, “helps to eliminate that point of resistance,” he stated.

3. Higher most contribution limits

The quantity you possibly can contribute to a 529 plan is greater in 2024. This 12 months, dad and mom can present as much as $18,000, or as much as $36,000 should you’re married and file taxes collectively, per little one with out these contributions counting towards your lifetime present tax exemption, up from $17,000 in 2023. 

High-net-worth households that wish to assist fund a member of the family’s greater schooling might additionally think about “superfunding” 529 accounts, which permits frontloading 5 years’ value of tax-free items right into a 529 plan.

In this case, you can contribute as much as $90,000 in a single 12 months, or $180,000 for a married couple. But then you definitely would not have the ability to give more cash to that very same recipient inside a five-year interval with out it counting in opposition to your lifetime present tax exemption.

“If you have the means, that’s a big deal,” Tsai stated.

A bigger lump-sum contribution upfront could doubtlessly generate extra earnings in contrast with the identical measurement contribution unfold out over just a few years as a result of it has an extended time horizon, in response to Fidelity.

4. New grandparent ‘loophole’

A brand new simplified Free Application for Federal Student Aid rolled out on the finish of final 12 months, with added advantages for grandparents who personal 529 accounts for his or her grandchildren.

Under the previous FAFSA guidelines, belongings held in grandparent-owned 529 school financial savings plans weren’t reported on the FAFSA kind, however distributions from these accounts counted as untaxed scholar earnings, which might scale back assist by as much as half of that earnings.

As a part of the FAFSA simplification, college students not must reply questions on contributions from a grandparent, successfully making a “loophole” for grandparents to fund a grandchild’s school fund with out impacting their monetary assist eligibility.

“In 2024, the grandparent penalty goes away, so 529 plans prove themselves, once again, to be a really exceptional way to save,” Tsai stated.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.