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New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan NEW! PDF ReportPRO
New York
New York's direct-sold 529 college savings plan is available to residents of any state. It offers low fees and diverse investment options featuring Vanguard mutual funds. New York residents may enjoy a state tax deduction for contributions to the plan. There is no minimum contribution to start saving with New York's 529 College Savings Program and you can enroll online in minutes.
5-Cap Rating
| Resident: |  |
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| Non-Resident: | 
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Savingforcollege.com's 5-Cap Ratings provides an evaluation and comparison of 529 plans, utilizing a formula that examines dozens of factors grouped into the following categories. (Scale 0 to 5; 5 is highest)
| Performance | Costs | Features | Reliability | Resident Upgrade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.81 | 4.72 | 5.00 | 4.18 | 0.40 |
Start saving today
Access enrollment materials and open an account with New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan in just a few easy steps.
General
Did you know?
Residents are not limited to investing in their own state's plan. Another state may offer a plan that performs better and has lower fees.
The plan chosen does not affect which state the student enrolls in. An investor can live in NY, invest in a plan from NV and send a student to college in FL.
The best way to maximize your college savings? Start early and save often. You can get started today with easy online enrollment.
Program type:
Savings
How to enroll:
Enroll directly with the program.Initial year of operation:
1998, but substantially changed in November 2003
State agency(ies):
Office of the State Comptroller and the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation
Program manager:
Ascensus College Savings
Program distributor:
Vanguard Marketing Corporation
Manager contract term:
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Eligibility
State residency requirements:
None
Who can be a participant/owner in the program?
U.S. citizens and resident aliens including minors, UGMA/UTMA custodians, and legal entities.
Significant time or age restrictions imposed by the program:
None
Contributions
Maximum contributions:
Accepts contributions until all account balances in New York's 529 plans for the same beneficiary reach $520,000.
Minimum contributions:
No minimum.
Does the program offer an e-gifting platform for receiving gift contributions?
This plan offers a robust gifting platform that allows gift-givers to save their own profile for recurring or future contributions.
Investment Options
Age-based/Enrollment Year investment options:
The Target Enrollment Portfolios offers Contribution are placed into the portfolio corresponding to the selected risk level and beneficiary's age, and later reassigned to more conservative portfolios as the beneficiary approaches college age.
Static investment options:
Select among 5 multi-fund portfolios (Aggressive Growth, Growth, Moderate Growth, Conservative Growth, and Income), 8 individual fund portfolios, and the Interest Accumulation portfolio.
Underlying investments:
Vanguard mutual funds.
Underlying fund allocations:
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Portfolio Fees & Performance Lookup
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See Investment OptionsFees & Expenses
Enrollment or application fee:
None.
Account maintenance fee:
None.
Program management fees:
0.12% manager fee; fee includes underlying fund expenses.
Expenses of the underlying investments:
Not applicable, included in the program management fee.
Total asset-based expense ratio:
0.12%
Taxes and other Benefits
Program match on contributions:
None.
State tax deduction or credit for contributions:
Contributions to a New York 529 plan of up to $5,000 per year by an individual, and up to $10,000 per year by a married couple filing jointly, are deductible in computing New York taxable income. Only contributions made by the account owner, or if filing jointly, by the account owner's spouse, are deductible. Contribution deadline is December 31 postmark.
State tax recapture provisions:
The principal portion of rollovers and nonqualified withdrawals from this plan are subject to New York tax to the extent of prior New York tax deductions, but only after removal of non-deducted contributions. A rollover for this purpose does not include a trustee-to-trustee transfer between two different accounts in New York's 529 plan.
State definition of qualified expenses
The state's definition of qualified education expenses currently includes expenses for attendance at an institution of higher education or an apprenticeship program, as defined by the Internal Revenue Code and its regulations addressing qualified state tuition programs. This does not include tuition for elementary or secondary education, or education loan payments. Distributions from a 529 account directly to a Roth IRA are not considered a qualified expense for state income tax purposes.
State tax treatment of qualified distributions:
Qualified distributions from New York and non-New York 529 plans (via conformity to the federal tax exclusion) are exempt.
State tax treatment of rollovers:
New York follows tax-free treatment for rollovers except that, according to a New York State Dept. of Taxation and Finance interpretation, a rollover out of a New York 529 plan is treated as a nonqualified withdrawal. A direct trustee-to-trustee rollover between two New York 529 accounts is not treated as a nonqualified withdrawal for this purpose.
Does the sponsoring state exclude the value of an account for state financial aid purposes?
Yes
Does participation in the program provide beneficiaries with any advantages in qualifying for resident tuition status at state institutions?
No
Is there a rewards program or outside scholarship program that works with this program?
Yes, the Upromise Rewards program can be linked to any 529 college savings plan. Upromise Rewards is free to join and offers members cash back for college.
Statutory protection of an account from creditors:
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Distributions & Terminations
To whom are distributions made payable:
Choice of account owner, beneficiary, or eligible educational institution; if the institution, then the withdrawal amount is first directed to the NY Higher Education Services Corp. and then paid to the institution from HESC.
Account Changes
Policy regarding participant/owner changes:
Accepts requests to transfer account ownership.
Documents, Access & Reporting
Does participant have online password-protected access to account?
Yes
Can the complete enrollment process including funding be done online?
Yes
Documents and other services accessible or downloadable on the program's public Web site:
PRO Premium subscription required for this data.
Open an account in just a few easy steps. Start saving today!
