Help clients with CollegeAmerica® contributions

ARTICLE TAKEAWAYS

  • Learn about a reference guide designed to help clients contribute to their CollegeAmerica accounts
  • Get the answers to common questions about contributing to CollegeAmerica accounts

Investors often have questions about making contributions to their CollegeAmerica accounts. The How to contribute to your 529 single sheet can be provided as a reference guide. It covers:

  • How your clients and their friends and family members can contribute
  • Contribution limits and deadlines
  • What to expect at tax time
     
CollegeAmerica is a nationwide plan sponsored by Virginia 5 2 9.
log in to client accounts

Related content

CollegeAmerica contributions

Making the case for college savings

Managing client banking information

Help clients access their accounts online

Common questions

Contributions can be made to the account via:

  • Client Accounts: Log in to the client’s account and click Buy. To add or update an automatic investment plan, click Automatic Transactions. Be sure to have the client’s bank information on hand if it’s not already on file.
  • Check: Checks should be made payable to CollegeAmerica and should include the account number and investment instructions. Mail the check to the service center near you.

Your clients’ friends and family can contribute to the account via: 

  • Check: Checks should be made payable to CollegeAmerica. They should include the account number and investment instructions and mail the check to the service center near them. 
     

Note: Third-party checks are not accepted.

  • Bill Pay: This option is set up directly with a bank. They should designate CollegeAmerica as the payee and provide the account number and fund name(s) or number(s) from a quarterly statement.
  • College savings gift cards and rewards programs: Capital Group also participates in many third-party college savings programs. They should confirm the requirements with the program provider.

There is no deadline. However, contributions count as gifts in the year they are made. Therefore, a contribution must be made by December 31 to count as a gift for that year.

Contributions to CollegeAmerica accounts are considered gifts by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and may be subject to gift taxes. Based on a contributor’s tax-filing status, the gift tax exclusion limits for 2024 are:

Tax-filing status

2024 limits

Single

$18,000

Single with 5-year election*

$90,000

Married filing jointly

$36,000

Married filing jointly with 5-year election*

$180,000


*The 5-year election allows a contributor to gift up to their limit during one calendar year and treat the gift as having been made over 5 years. No additional gifts can be made to that beneficiary over the next 4 years after the year in which the one-time gift is made. If the donor of an accelerated gift dies within the 5-year period, a portion of the transferred amount will be included in the donor’s estate for tax purposes.

Consult a tax advisor regarding your client’s specific situation.

Return to CollegeAmerica 529 >

Contact us

Have questions or need additional support?
Contact us 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.

(800) 421-0180

For financial professionals only. Not for use with the public.

All Capital Group trademarks mentioned are owned by The Capital Group Companies, Inc., an affiliated company or fund. All other company and product names mentioned are the property of their respective companies.

Use of this website is intended for U.S. residents only.

The guidelines and procedures provided in the Account Resource Center may not apply to networked accounts or accounts not directly held by American Funds. The guidelines and procedures provided also apply only to those retirement accounts or Coverdell ESAs invested in American Funds with Capital Bank and Trust Company (CB&T) as custodian. The guidelines and procedures provided in the Account Resource Center do not apply to plans held in our retirement plan solutions — PlanPremier, PlanPremier-TPA or RecordkeeperDirect. Information on the Account Resource Center may change periodically, and previously printed information may not be current. Please refer to capitalgroup.com for the most current information available.

Financial professionals should always contact their back office to determine if there are any restrictions on the use of American Funds products, tools, services, websites and literature.