IDeal - Idaho Education Savings Program, is Idaho's official 529 education savings program. IDeal offers the simplest and best way to save for education while getting rewarded with great tax benefits.
Enroll TodayIDeal offers many advantages over other savings methods to make your education savings go further and help reach your educational goals.
An IDeal account can help your savings go further, with tax advantages you can't find anywhere else:
Your IDeal plan is flexible and can be used for a variety of education options - not just in Idaho, but anywhere:
You don't need a lot to get started, and saving even small amounts can make a difference:
Many PathsYou can use your IDeal account tax-free for qualified education expenses* wherever your loved one’s path takes them.
IDeal savings may be used to pay for qualified expenses at K–12 public, private, and religious schools, including:
You may withdraw up to $20,000 per year, per beneficiary for qualified K–12 expenses.
Expenses for tuition and certain other expenses in connection with enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary public, private or religious school as determined under applicable state law, not to exceed $20,000 (effective beginning January 1, 2026) per student per year in the aggregate across all 529 Plans for such student. See the IDeal Disclosure Statement for details. Since different states have different tax provisions, if you or your beneficiary, as applicable, are not an Idaho taxpayer, the state(s) where you pay income tax may differ in its state income tax treatment of K-12 expenses. You should consult your own state’s tax laws or your tax advisor for more information on your state’s taxation of withdrawals for K-12 expenses.
IDeal savings can be used to pay for education and training programs that help you earn or maintain a recognized career credential after high school.
You can use your savings for:
Your program may qualify if it:
Explore opportunities:
For a program or credential to be considered recognized it must meet certain criteria. Please refer to the IDeal Disclosure Statement for important additional information or consider speaking with a qualified tax professional.
Use your IDeal savings to pay for apprenticeship programs registered and certified with the U.S. Secretary of Labor under the National Apprenticeship Act.
Covered expenses include:
For additional details about expanded qualified uses of IDeal Program funds, please review the IDeal Program Disclosure.
Note: IDeal savings can be used for programs nationwide. If you plan to train outside of Idaho, check with the state where your program is located to confirm eligibility
Use your IDeal savings for vocational or trade school, or community colleges to pay for qualified expenses, including tuition, fees, housing, meal plans, books, supplies, computer technology, and equipment. Use at any eligible higher education institution anywhere in the country, not just in Idaho.
An eligible institution is one that is eligible for federal financial aid programs.
Use your IDeal savings for eligible colleges and universities in the U.S. as well as some international schools, including:
Use the Federal School Code Search on the FAFSA website to search for a complete list of eligible institutions. There are no withdrawal minimums or maximums.
Use your IDeal savings for qualified graduate school expenses, including:
Use the Federal School Code Search on the FAFSA website to search for a complete list of eligible institutions. There are no withdrawal minimums or maximums.
IDeal savings may be used to repay qualified student loans. Tax‑free withdrawals for this purpose are limited to a $10,000 lifetime maximum and may be used toward the repayment of both principal and interest on qualified education loans for your beneficiary.
Note: If you make an education loan repayment from your Account, you may not also take a federal income tax deduction for any interest included in that education loan repayment.
IDeal beneficiaries can rollover unused savings from their account into a Roth IRA without incurring any federal income tax or penalty. The Roth IRA must belong to the same beneficiary, and the lifetime rollover limit is $35,000. To be eligible, the IDeal account must have been open for at least 15 years and the rollover amount must have been in the IDeal account for 5 years. 529 to Roth IRA rollovers will also count toward annual Roth IRA contribution limits.
*Earnings on non-qualified withdrawals are subject to federal income tax and may be subject to a 10% federal penalty tax, as well as state and local income taxes. The availability of tax or other benefits may be contingent on meeting other requirements.
It's as easy as 1-2-3
Open the account with as little as $25. Select the investment option that is right for you. We have flexible options to meet your needs, as well as help available to assist you if needed.
Open an account
Save regularly and stay on track. You can contribute anytime, or set recurring contributions to make saving and reaching your goals easy.
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When you're ready, your IDeal savings can be used on a variety of eligible educational institutions for tuition, books, fees and more!
WITHDRAWALS OVERVIEWManage your account anywhere, anytime
READYSAVE™ 529 App
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Shortly after the birth of our first child, we established two priorities essential to our newborn son’s future: Take the steps necessary to ensure he would one day be able to obtain a quality education after high school and help him avoid the burden of taking out student loans to pay for it. For us, IDeal had the investment framework for saving and growing our assets that suited our needs and goals. A series of tax benefits built into IDeal made the program even more enticing.
Three more children followed over the next seven years. With each child came a new 529 account. We used the automatic deduction feature of IDeal to help reach our savings goals. There were moments when we paused the automatic deductions when our budget tightened. But after each break, we resumed saving and growing the 529 accounts. I encourage people to take advantage of a program like IDeal by starting their saving as soon as possible, even if it’s a small monthly amount.
My wife and I knew early we wanted our children to pursue education after high school, and we wanted our children to have funds saved when the time came to spend it on tuition, books and living expenses
Over time, our monthly savings, combined with earnings from IDeal’s managed assets, grew enough to cover the costs of undergraduate degrees for our children. We grew those account balances up until they went to college. We credit the built-in tax advantages for making IDeal such a bargain and value for Idahoans. That’s something we really tried to leverage every year, both to build on the balances but also to save on our annual tax burden.
As our children got older, especially as they got in college and saw how we saved, they came to better understand how important that was, especially in seeing what so many of their friends were up against in terms of costs. We believe it helped them graduate sooner and move on without significant debt. It has given them a strong first step into their careers and lives.
Individuals have not received compensation for their testimonial. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect the experience of other IDeal customers or guarantee future performance or success.
