Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Project your college savings fund's future value from current savings, monthly contributions, and expected return.
This tool projects the future value of a college savings fund (like a 529 plan) using the standard compound-growth-with-regular-contributions formula, from your current savings, monthly contribution, expected annual return, and years until college.
Enter your current savings, planned monthly contribution, expected annual return, and years until college. Your projected fund value appears instantly.
The calculator converts your years into months and your annual return into a monthly rate by dividing by 12. It grows your current savings by that monthly rate for every month, and separately grows a stream of monthly contributions using the future value of an annuity formula. The two parts are added. Contributions are assumed to be made at the end of each month, and returns are assumed constant. If you enter a 0 percent return, the tool simply adds your current savings to the total contributions.
Future value = current x (1 + r)^n + monthly x ((1 + r)^n - 1) / r, where r is the annual return / 12 and n is the number of months.
Imagine you have $2,000 saved, you add $150 a month, you assume a 6 percent annual return, and college starts in 10 years. Over 120 months you will contribute $18,000 out of pocket, which together with the $2,000 starting amount is $20,000 of your own money. At a 6 percent return, the projection is about $28,221, so growth accounts for roughly $8,200. If you assume 4 percent instead, the result is about $25,069, and at 0 percent it is just $20,000. Changing the return assumption by a couple of points shifts the outcome by thousands of dollars, which shows why it pays to test several scenarios instead of trusting one number.
Because the annual return is a single fixed number, the tool cannot represent real markets, where returns vary year to year and can be negative. It also does not model fees, taxes, inflation, or increasing contributions over time. Inflation matters here: the projected dollars will be worth less in the future than today, and college costs have historically tended to change over time as well, so a projected fund that looks large in nominal terms may cover less than expected. A second common mistake is entering the return as a decimal; type 6 for six percent. Also remember that a fixed monthly contribution is assumed for the entire period, so a raise in deposits partway through would require a second calculation.
Education savings accounts and 529 plans have their own rules about contributions, qualified expenses and taxes. Those rules and limits change and vary by state, so check the plan's own documents, the IRS at IRS.gov, or a qualified financial or tax professional before making decisions. This projection is an educational estimate, not a promise of results or investment advice.
This depends entirely on your actual investment mix and market conditions, which vary and cannot be predicted -- use a conservative assumption based on your specific investments' historical performance and risk profile, not a guaranteed number.
No. It applies your return assumption directly and does not subtract investment fees, account fees or taxes, so real results may be lower than the projection.
The formula treats them as end-of-month deposits. Deposits made at the start of the month would grow slightly more than this projection shows.
The tool adds your current savings to the total of all monthly contributions, with no growth at all. That gives a useful baseline to compare against growth scenarios.
No. It projects the value of your fund only. Compare it against an estimate of future costs separately, keeping in mind that inflation may reduce what the money can buy.
Reference: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau