College Savings Calculator

Formatting only. This does not change the calculation.
A level amount every month. Increasing contributions are not modelled.
Design choice: the monthly rate is r/12, the financial-calculator and Excel convention, so 6% compounds to 6.17% a year. Not a guaranteed return.
Rounded to whole months for the savings arithmetic; used as typed for the cost inflation.
Total budget: tuition and fees, housing and food, books, transportation and other expenses. Pick custom to enter your own annual figure.
Only used when the college type is set to custom.
Design choice, not a College Board figure: sticker prices rose 2.9% in 2025-26 and about 2.4% a year above CPI over 30 years for public in-state colleges, so roughly CPI + 2.4% is used.
Only used when the target is a fixed amount.
Projected balance at enrollment
111,786.55
529 College Savings Calculator
Of which: current balance grown
24,540.94
Of which: contributions plus their growth
87,245.61
Total contributed over the period
54,000.00
First-year cost at enrollment
64,425.98
Total cost of all college years
277,684.05
Savings target used
277,684.05
Shortfall at enrollment (0 if funded)
165,897.50
Share of the target funded
40.3 %
Monthly contribution needed to reach the target
870.45
Effective annual return implied by r/12
6.1678 %
Worked out from OpenStax, Principles of Finance 2e, 8.2 Annuities and 8.5 Equal Payments with a Financial Calculator and Excel and 4 other sources.
Monthly rate convention: r/12 (6% becomes 0.5% a month). Calculators using (1 + r)^(1/12) - 1 instead will show a smaller balance.
The target is the whole multi-year cost at the moment of enrollment; in practice the money is drawn over the college years and keeps growing, so this is conservative.

How this is worked out

8 steps
  1. Monthly rate i = 6% / 12 = 0.5%; n = 15 × 12 = 180 months; (1 + i)^n = 2.4540935622.
  2. Current balance grows to 10000 × 2.4540935622 = 24540.94.
  3. Contributions grow to 300 × [(1 + i)^n - 1]/i = 87245.61 (ordinary annuity, end of month).
  4. Projected balance = 24540.94 + 87245.61 = 111786.55.
  5. First-year cost at enrollment = 30990 × (1 + 5%)^15 = 64425.98.
  6. 4-year total, each year 5% dearer = 64425.98 × [(1 + g)^4 - 1]/g = 277684.05.
  7. Target used: 277684.05 (college cost); shortfall = max(0, target - projected) = 165897.5.
  8. Contribution needed = (target - balance × (1 + i)^n) × i / [(1 + i)^n - 1] = 870.45 a month.
Federal 529 rules for 2026 (information only)table
Gift tax: contributions up to $19,000 per donor per beneficiary in 2026 fall within the annual exclusion (Rev. Proc. 2025-32); a 5-year election lets a donor front-load 5 × $19,000 = $95,000 (IRC 529(c)(2)(B))., K-12: up to $20,000 a year per beneficiary of qualified elementary and secondary expenses for taxable years beginning after 31 Dec 2025 ($10,000 before), per IRC 529(e)(3)(A) as amended and IRS Topic 313., Roth IRA rollover: up to a $35,000 lifetime total per beneficiary from a 529 open at least 15 years, each year limited to the Roth contribution limit (IRC 529(c)(3)(E))., Earnings grow federally tax-free and qualified withdrawals are not federally taxed (IRS Topic 313). State tax deductions or credits vary by state and are not modelled.

Results are general information, not financial, tax, legal, medical or engineering advice.