Colorado 529 Plan: What College Savers Should Know
Colorado offers four unique 529 plans. Read about the different plans in our report.
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Lyss Welding
Editor & Writer
Lyss Welding is a higher education analyst and data writer for BestColleges who specializes in translating massive data sets and finding statistics that matter to students. Lyss has worked in academic research, curriculum design, and program evaluati...
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Rebecca Long
Editor & Writer
Rebecca Long is a copy editor for BestColleges. She has nearly a decade of editorial experience, including writing and editing. As a freelance journalist, her work has been published in The Boston Globe, The Guardian, Slate, and others. She has also ...
Fact-checked by Marley Hall
Updated January 19, 2023
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In June 2022, Colorado held about $10.2 billion across its 529 plans, according to the Federal Reserve.[1]
529 plans are state-sponsored investment accounts specially designed to help people save for college. Some states also allow residents to save for K-12 costs with 529 plans, but not Colorado. However, Colorado's 529 plans come with other benefits.
Colorado's 529 Plans
Colorado offers four 529 college savings plans.
CollegeInvest Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan
- Requires State Residency? No
- K-12 Expenses Eligible? No
- Fees: 0.29%
- Performance Notes: As of January 2023, moderate growth portfolio has gained an average of 5.4% in annual returns since its creation.
CollegeInvest Smart Choice College Savings Plan
- Requires State Residency? No
- K-12 Expenses Eligible? No
- Fees: 0%
- Performance Notes: It's unclear how much you might expect to gain in dividends from this account since this plan operates more like a lower-interest savings account. You should ask FirstBank for specific details.
Stable Value Plus College Savings Plan
- Requires State Residency? No
- K-12 Expenses Eligible? No
- Fees: 0.71-0.99%
- Performance Notes: This plan offers a guaranteed rate of return, which changes annually. It will not go below 1.5%.
Scholars Choice Education Savings Plan (Advisor Sold)
- Requires State Residency? No
- K-12 Expenses Eligible? No
- Fees: 0.26-1.71%
- Performance Notes: On average, the 2022-2023 Enrollment Portfolio has lost 4.85% a year since its creation, but it was only created in July 2021.
Colorado 529 Plan Benefits
According to the College Savings Plan Network:[2]
- State residents can deduct annual contributions to Colorado 529 on their taxes — up to $20,000 if they're single and $30,000 if they're married and filing jointly.
- In Colorado, you can contribute up to $500,000 in total to college savings plans.
- If your child was born in the state after 2020 and you open a direct-sold (not advisor-sold) Colorado 529 plan, the state will contribute $100.
- Colorado also matches up to $400 for low- and middle-income families.
