529 College Savings Calculator
Project your college savings fund's growth from contributions and expected returns.
Assumptions used in this calculation
- Constant contribution: Assumes the same monthly contribution every month for the full period, with no withdrawals.
About this calculator
College costs are known years in advance but rarely funded with a single lump sum, most families build toward them through regular monthly contributions into a tax-advantaged account like a US 529 plan, and figuring out whether those contributions are actually on pace to cover the bill requires projecting two separate growth streams, your current balance and your future monthly deposits, compounding together over years or decades. This calculator applies Projected value = FV(current savings) + FV(monthly contributions) to your current balance, monthly contribution, expected annual return and years until college, then compares the result against an optional savings goal to show a shortfall or surplus. It also reports total amount contributed separately from investment growth, so you can see how much of the eventual balance comes from your own deposits versus market returns. Use it to check whether your current monthly contribution is enough, or how much you'd need to increase it to close a projected gap before tuition bills arrive.
Worked example
$5,000 current savings, $300/month, 6% return, 15 years
Result: Projected value ≈ $93,000
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