FAQs

You may have to pay income taxes, plus an additional 10% federal tax and a state tax on the earnings portion of any withdrawal for a non-qualified expense. 

To contribute online, first make sure the recipient has their gifting page available. Then, use their gifting page link to fill out the fields as directed — it’s the usual information like your name, address, the amount you want to contribute, how you’ll fund the contribution, and the occasion for your gift.

Anyone can make contributions to your account to help you reach your goals.

In some cases there are restrictions on how soon you can access the funds. If a contribution is made by check, EFT, or “Automated Investment Plan” AIP (and assuming all are in good order), the approval of a distribution of that contribution from the account will be deferred for five (5) business days after the deposit. For gift contributions, the hold period is ten (10) business days. 

Please note that there will be a hold placed on distribution requests for thirty-five (35*) calendar days after any of the following occur:  

• complete an initial enrollment in VT529; 

• you change your banking information; or 

• you change your address. 

*Initial contribution is subject to five (5) business day hold on withdrawals after deposit. Additionally, there is a 10 day hold for manually added bank accounts and 5 days for bank accounts added via Plaid. Lastly, any time you submit a change of address, a fifteen (15) calendar day hold applies. 

It’s easy to make withdrawals from your account online. You can withdraw as little as $5 each time and transfer that money into any bank account linked to your VT529 account. If you have more than one investment, you can also decide which investment you’d like to pull money from.

If you want to pay an eligible education institution bill or tuition, you can request checks directly made out to them online or by using our Withdrawal Form (PDF). You can also send an electronic payment directly to them online as well using our Flywire integration. There is a $10 Flywire fee for electronic payment withdrawals.

Note, any money withdrawn from your account should be used for qualified expenses.

Complete the setup process in three simple steps:

1. Log in to your VT529 account and click on “Direct Deposit” on the Total Balance tile

2. Enter your information and retrieve your direct deposit details — including a unique routing and account numbers 

3. Complete the process by providing your employer with the direct deposit details, the same as you would with your own checking or savings account

If you need to edit or remove your account’s automatic contributions, simply sign into your account, click the “Transfers” link at the top of the page, and then select “Manage.” You can delete and re-enter a new desired contribution amount, and edit the frequency or day of the month the contribution is being made, where the contribution is coming from, and more.

It’s easy to set up automatic monthly contributions from one bank account or more into your VT529 account. You can securely link your account(s) online and adjust your contribution amount accordingly. Plus, you can contribute as little as $5 each time.

Follow these steps to set up your automatic contributions:

1. Create or sign in to your account.

2. Click the "Transfers" link at the top of the page.

3. In the Contributions section, select “Recurring monthly contribution” in the Frequency drop-down list.

4. In addition to standard recurring contributions, you can also set up automatic payroll direct deposits. These payments come directly out of your paycheck, after taxes, and go into your VT529 account.

If you receive a refund from an eligible educational institution, you can use our Contribution Form (PDF) to recontribute those funds back into your account without tax penalties or fees, as long as you do so within 60 days of receiving the refund.

Yep. You can have payments directly made out to any eligible, U.S.-based educational institution to pay a bill or tuition online or by using our Withdrawal Form.