Birthdays have a way of showing us just how quickly kids grow. And how much can change during their childhood.
One year, they’re obsessed with dinosaurs. The next might be outer space, soccer, baking, or building anything they can get their hands on. Their interests change, their imaginations grow, and somewhere in all those little moments, their futures start taking shape.
Most birthday gifts are about celebrating who they are right now—and there’s plenty of fun in that. But a birthday can also be an opportunity to give something toward who they might become.
An Indiana529 education savings plan can help parents, grandparents, and other loved ones start saving for the education or training that may be part of a child’s future. And with the ability to start an account with as little as $10, it doesn’t need to be a big investment, and you don’t have to have all the answers about where their future will head to get started.
Start Small and Let it Grow with Them
Saving for a child’s future education can sound like a huge financial undertaking, especially when families are already juggling all the expenses that come with raising kids. But you don’t have to fund their entire education today. You can contribute at a pace that makes sense for your family. Starting when kids are young also gives investments more time to potentially grow.
There are tax advantages, too. Savings grow tax-deferred, and withdrawals used for qualified education expenses are free from federal and Indiana state income tax2.
Indiana taxpayers have an additional benefit: eligible taxpayers may receive a state income tax credit equal to 20% of contributions to an Indiana529 account, up to $1,500 per year ($750 for married couples filing separately)1.
Invite Family and Friends to be Part of the Saving Journey
Indiana529 offers Ugift®, which allows an account owner to share a unique code with family and friends who want to contribute to a child’s account. That makes birthdays an easy opportunity for grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other loved ones to add something toward the future alongside the gifts they’ll enjoy today.
And the tax advantages aren’t limited to Mom and Dad either. Eligible Indiana taxpayers who contribute to someone else’s Indiana529 account—such as grandparents or other loved ones— also qualify for the credit.
So, whether it’s $10 to open an account, regular contributions throughout the year, or a birthday contribution from Grandma and Grandpa, those individual moments can become part of something much bigger.
A Gift for Every Version of Who They Might Become
One of the benefits of Indiana529 is its flexibility. Savings can be used at eligible 2- and 4-year colleges, graduate schools, as well as for skilled futures through vocational and technical schools, trade schools, and registered apprenticeships. And their options aren’t limited to Indiana—Indiana529 savings can be used at eligible schools across the country and abroad.
The savings can help cover more than tuition, too. Qualified education expenses include tuition, fees, certain room and board costs, books, computers and course-related software, supplies, equipment, and more.
So, today’s flashlight inspector could become tomorrow’s electrician. Your tiny kitchen helper could someday head to culinary school. Today’s resident question-asker could become tomorrow’s doctor. Today’s sandbox supervisor could build a future in the trades. And the kid who never stops drawing might someday become an architect.
And if they aren’t ready to decide what comes next right after high school, that’s okay, too. There’s no time limit on when Indiana529 savings have to be used. The money can stay invested while they decide on their next step. If their plans change more significantly, the account owner can also change the beneficiary to another eligible family member.
The gift isn’t choosing their future for them. It’s helping give them more choices when they get there.
Made for Hoosiers and the Future They Dream Of
Their dreams will grow and change right along with them. Indiana529 is here to help Hoosier families prepare for wherever those dreams may lead.
Because every big future has to start somewhere.
Learn more and get started at MyIndiana529.com.
1 This credit is subject to recapture from the account owner (not the contributor) in certain circumstances, such as rollovers to another state’s 529 plan, federal nonqualified withdrawals, withdrawals used to pay elementary or secondary school tuition for a school outside of Indiana, qualified education loan repayments, or rollovers to a Roth IRA account, as described in the Disclosure Booklet.
2 Earnings on non-qualified withdrawals are subject to federal income tax and may be subject to a 10% federal penalty tax, as well as state and local income taxes. The availability of tax or other benefits may be contingent on meeting other requirements. See the Disclosure Booklet for more details on qualified expenses.
For more information about the Indiana529 Direct Savings Plan (Indiana529 Direct), call 1.866.485.9415 or visit www.Indiana529direct.com to obtain a Disclosure Booklet, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information; read and consider it carefully before investing.
Before you invest, consider whether your or the beneficiary’s home state offers any state tax or other state benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds, and protection from creditors that are only available for investments in that state’s qualified tuition program.
Indiana529 Direct is administered by the Indiana Education Savings Authority (Authority). Ascensus Broker Dealer Services, LLC, the program manager, and its affiliates, have overall responsibility for the day-to-day operations, including investment advisory, recordkeeping and administrative services, and marketing. The Indiana529 Direct Portfolios invest in: (i) mutual funds; (ii) a stable value account held in trust by the Authority at Vanguard; and/or (iii) an FDIC-insured omnibus savings account held in trust by the Authority at NexBank. Except for the Savings Portfolio, investments in Indiana529 are not insured by the FDIC. Units of the Portfolios are municipal fund securities and the value of units will vary with market conditions.
Indiana taxpayers are eligible for a state income tax credit of 20% of contributions to an Indiana529 Direct Savings Plan account, up to $1,500 credit per year ($750 for married couples filing separately). This credit may be subject to recapture from the account owner (not the contributor) in certain circumstances, such as rollovers to another state’s 529 plan, federal nonqualified withdrawals, withdrawals used to pay elementary or secondary school tuition for a school outside of Indiana, education loan repayments, or rollovers to a Roth IRA account, as described in the Disclosure Booklet.
