Cytraveler
Level 2 Member
Just a suggestion that if you have kids in college, or you have tuition for yourself, even if you haven't saved money in a 529 already, or saved less than you will spend on tuition, you may still be able to get a state tax deduction.
It's going to depend on your state and the 529 plan you use. In PA, where I live, I can contribute AND deduct up to $14,000 per parent for a max of $28,000/year (only up to the income actually earned by each parent, so if only one of you earns $$ you can only deduct $14k). In PA, you can use any state's 529 plan and get the tax deduction (this isn't true in all states; many of them require you to use their plan for the state tax deduction). And I use NY's 529 plan, which has low-cost index funds (of course that doesn't matter for funds you're putting through fast, but I have some longer-term money saved there too). The NY plan only has a hold of about a week, so I can contribute money to the plan, then a week later withdraw the money and send it to the college. And it's all deductible on my state taxes.
Federal tax deductions for 529 are all about the earnings: you aren't taxed on the earnings, so you won't get federal tax deductions for money you're contributing that you have to use soon. But state tax deductions - at least in PA - are simply based on making the contribution.
It's going to depend on your state and the 529 plan you use. In PA, where I live, I can contribute AND deduct up to $14,000 per parent for a max of $28,000/year (only up to the income actually earned by each parent, so if only one of you earns $$ you can only deduct $14k). In PA, you can use any state's 529 plan and get the tax deduction (this isn't true in all states; many of them require you to use their plan for the state tax deduction). And I use NY's 529 plan, which has low-cost index funds (of course that doesn't matter for funds you're putting through fast, but I have some longer-term money saved there too). The NY plan only has a hold of about a week, so I can contribute money to the plan, then a week later withdraw the money and send it to the college. And it's all deductible on my state taxes.
Federal tax deductions for 529 are all about the earnings: you aren't taxed on the earnings, so you won't get federal tax deductions for money you're contributing that you have to use soon. But state tax deductions - at least in PA - are simply based on making the contribution.