Each week, in our Ask the Editor series, Joy Taylor, The Kiplinger Tax Letter Editor, answers questions on topics submitted by readers. This week, she’s looking at five questions on 529 college savings plans. (Get a free issue of The Kiplinger Tax Letter or subscribe.)
Q1: Unused Funds
We funded a 529 college savings plan for my son. We used money in the account for his college. He is now done with school, and there are still unused funds in the 529 account. What can we do with this money without paying tax on it?
If you funded a 529 plan, and the beneficiary decides not to go to college, or he or she did go to college, and there are funds remaining at the end, there are several tax-free options for using the leftover money:
Keep the funds in the account for the beneficiary’s grad school, etc.
Use the 529 money to pay for certain apprentice programs for the beneficiary.
Roll over leftover funds to a 529 plan for another family member’s education needs.
Use up to $10,000 to help pay off the beneficiary’s college debt. It’s important to note that this $10,000 is a lifetime limit, not an annual limit. 529 distributions for student loan repayments that exceed $10,000 are taxable in part to the extent of the excess and are also subject to a 10% penalty.
Roll over funds from a beneficiary’s 529 plan to an ABLE account for a disabled beneficiary or the beneficiary’s disabled siblings.
Some excess 529 funds can be transferred tax-free to a Roth IRA for the 529 beneficiary in a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer. There are key rules to meet: The 529 account must have been open for at least 15 years, with the same beneficiary. There is a $35,000 lifetime cap. 529 contributions made in the prior five years are ineligible for the transfer. And annual 529 distributions for this purpose can’t exceed the annual contribution limit for Roth IRAs, which is $7,000 in 2025.
