College savings for every future

Understanding 529 Plans and Their Benefits

Give the gift of knowledge, career skills and life-changing opportunities to a loved one—in the form of a tax-advantaged, benefits-oriented college savings account that can be used for a variety of qualified educational expenses.

What is a 529 Plan?

Kick–start your college fund with an account that’s flexible, simple to manage and grows tax-deferred!

A tax–advantaged way to save for college and other educational expenses

A lower impact on financial aid qualification than many other investment options

Can be used for expenses like tuition, fees, computers, textbooks, and housing and food1

Can be opened with only $25 and 15 minutes of your time

What can an Oklahoma 529 do for me?

Tax-advantaged growth potential

With an Oklahoma 529 account, you could save more with tax–deferred growth and 100% tax–free earnings for qualified withdrawals. Oklahoma taxpayers can also reduce their state taxable income up up to $20,000 if married filing jointly ($10,000 filing single), from contributions made into an Oklahoma 529. When you pay less taxes, you have the ability to earn more and grow your college savings account faster—giving your beneficiary an even bigger head start!

Limitations apply.2

With tax-deferred growth, you can grow your college savings faster.

Taxable vs. Tax-Deferred growth over 10 years.*

Bar chart showing that $100 invested in an Oklahoma 529 account over an 10-year period could grow to $210.61.
Taxable Investment
$179.64
Tax-Deferred Investment
$210.61

Read about material differences between taxable investments and tax-deferred investments.

Graph Footnotes

Flexible spending

An Oklahoma 529 plan account can be used to pay for a wide range of qualifying educational expenses. Plus, you can withdraw money as needed for qualified expenses and even transfer funds to eligible beneficiaries at no cost.

  • Use your savings at colleges, universities, career technology centers and community colleges; at graduate or post-graduate schools, professional programs, apprenticeships; and more.3
  • Pay for tuition, fees, computers, textbooks, housing and food or off-campus rent, and other required expenses.
  • Pay for qualifying K-12 tuition expenses as well as any additional Oklahoma Concurrent Enrollment or CareerTech costs.3
  • Use your funds at eligible institutions in-state or anywhere in the world!
  • Even use for student loan repayment subject to a lifetime limit of $10,000 per individual.3

Low fees and expenses

Saving for college for your child shouldn’t break the bank. That’s why investment expenses for Oklahoma 529 are less than half the average 529 plan and one-quarter of what you’d pay for a broker–sold plan.4

Oklahoma 529 implemented a 50-percent reduction in management fee as of January 1, 2024. This reduction is expected to save participating families over $1,000,000 annually. View 529 Oklahoma Fees & Expenses.

When you open an account, you can enjoy a variety of no-cost perks like:

  • NO application fees
  • NO cancellation fees
  • NO change–in–beneficiary fees
  • NO change–in–investment-portfolio fees
  • NO loads or sales charges
  • NO commissions
  • NO transfer fees

Investment Options

The Oklahoma 529 offers a variety of professionally managed investment portfolios to fit your life situation, risk tolerance and college savings goals. So whether you’re a new or experienced investor, prefer to be hands-on or would rather “set and forget,” there’s a plan for you!

Investment Options

This 529 plan was created by the State of Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Board of Trustees selected TIAA–CREF Tuition Financing, Inc. (TFI) as the Direct Plan Manager. TFI is a wholly owned subsidiary of TIAA, one of America’s leading financial services organizations for over 100 years.

Who We Are

What’s next?

How does this compare to other savings options?

Compare savings options

What are my investment options?

Investment portfolios

Ready to get started?

Have any questions? Oklahoma 529 is here to help!