Academics · Subject Resources · Paying for college

Where steady
saving lands by
the first tuition bill.

Type what is in the account, what you add each month and how many years are left. The calculator projects the balance at college, shows how much is your money and how much is growth, and works out what it would take to reach your target.

Project the balanceWhat you get

The 529 projection calculator

The worked example is made up: a six-year-old’s account with $4,000 and $150 a month rising 3% a year, at an assumed 5% return. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

Academics · Subject ResourcesFree

What you finish with
The projected balance at college, money put in and growth, the balance at a more cautious return, a year-by-year table and the monthly amount that reaches your target. It prints as a summary and downloads as a spreadsheet.
Who it is for
Parents, grandparents and families saving for college, and high school students planning with them.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Subject Resources space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Type the balance today and the monthly contribution.
  2. Choose a yearly raise, the years until college and an assumed return.
  3. Add a target if you have one.
  4. Read the projection, then the cautious version.
  5. Print the summary or download the spreadsheet.

Project the balance

How the projection works

Monthly deposits, monthly growth.

The worked example over 12 yearsStart$4,000balance todayPut in$25,546$150 a month, +3% a year, 12 yearsGrowth$12,0335% a year, monthlyAt college$41,579start + put in + growthThe worked example over 12 yearsStart$4,000balance todayPut in$25,546$150 a month, +3% a year, 12 yearsGrowth$12,0335% a year, monthlyAt college$41,579start + put in + growth
Monthly contributions do most of the work; growth on an assumed 5% adds $12,033 over twelve years.

The arithmetic

Each month the balance grows by the yearly return divided by 12, then the month’s contribution is added. Once a year the contribution rises by the raise you set. After the last month the balance is split into what was put in and what grew. The monthly amount for a target is found by trying amounts until the projection lands on it.

What it leaves out

Returns vary from year to year and can be negative, and many 529 plans move to safer investments as college nears, which usually lowers returns in the last years. Fees reduce growth. Under federal law, 529 earnings are not taxed while invested and are tax-free when spent on qualified education expenses; states set their own rules on deductions and taxes. A 529 owned by a parent is counted as a parent asset on the FAFSA.

Sources

  1. Internal Revenue Service. Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, chapter on qualified tuition programs (529 plans) (irs.gov).
  2. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov. An introduction to 529 plans (investor.gov).
  3. U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid. How assets such as 529 plans are reported on the FAFSA (studentaid.gov).
  4. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Saving for college (consumerfinance.gov).

The worked example is made up. The projection rests on the return you assume; it is not investment advice or a promise. Your figures stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.