FAQs

IDeal is Idaho’s official 529 education savings plan designed to help individuals and families save for education in a tax-advantaged way. It offers advantages including: state tax deductions, state and federal tax-deferred growth, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified expenses generous contribution limits, attractive investment options and professional investment management. IDeal is offered by the State Education Savings Program Board, with program management by Ascensus Broker Dealer Services, Inc. and investment management by The Vanguard Group, Inc. The Savings Portfolio, is managed by Sallie Mae Bank.

Open an account with as little as $25, contribute to the account, receive your Idaho state tax deduction, withdraw your funds when needed.

The easiest way is to enroll online. It only takes about 10 minutes. If you prefer to enroll by mail, complete the enrollment form and make an initial investment for the benefit of an individual (the beneficiary). You can open more than one account but each must be for a different beneficiary. You’ll enter basic information about you and your beneficiary, choose your investments, and select a cadence with which you want to contribute going forward.

You can also open an IDeal account through the READYSAVE™ 529 app, available for download through the App Store or Google Play

It only takes $25 to open an account (by check); $25/month or $75/quarter through AIP; or $15 with payroll direct deposit, where available. The total of all IDeal accounts for the same beneficiary cannot exceed $500,000.

IDeal has no commissions, loads, or sales charges. The total annual asset-based fee is 0.35% ($3.50 per $1,000 invested), and there is a $20 annual account fee if neither the account owner nor the beneficiary is an Idaho resident. The fee for the Savings Portfolio is 0.34%.

Any U.S. citizen or resident alien, 18 or older, or an entity that is organized in the U.S., with a Social Security number or Tax Identification Number and U.S. street address, can open an account, regardless of income level. Parents, grandparents, other family, and friends can open an account for anyone they choose. You can also open an account to pay for your own education.

Anyone can contribute to the same IDeal account, but total contributions cannot exceed $500,000 for all IDeal accounts for the same beneficiary. Contributions can also be made through Ugift®, our gifting platform that allows friends and family to contribute directly to your account.

Any person of any age (with a Social Security number) can be named as the beneficiary of an IDeal account. As the participant, you can select a child, adult or even yourself as beneficiary.

IDeal offers a number of convenient ways to contribute to your account, including:

• Electronic funds transfer (opening contribution of $25) from your checking or savings account
• Automatic Investment Plan (AIP) with scheduled contributions in set amounts of at least $25 per month or $75 per quarter from your checking or savings account
• Payroll deduction ($15 or more) through participating employers
• Check (made payable to IDeal - Idaho Education Savings Program)
• Rollover from another 529 plan
• Rollover from a Coverdell Education Savings Account or a qualified Series EE or Series I U.S. Savings Bond
• Transfer of cash from an UGMA/UTMA account (Note: consult with a tax advisor as there may be tax consequences)
• Ugift® our gifting platform that allows friends and family to contribute directly to your account
• Upromise® (minimum of $25)

Yes. As the account owner, you choose the portfolios in which you invest, and you decide when and where the money will be used. Even when your beneficiary turns 18, you retain control of the account.

Yes. You can change the direction of your future contributions at any time. Federal law permits you to move the assets in your IDeal account to a different mix of investment options twice per calendar year.

Yes. You can transfer your account to a “member of the family” of the beneficiary without incurring federal income tax or penalties.^*

^* Section 529 defines a family member as: a son, daughter, stepson or stepdaughter, or a descendant of any such person; a brother, sister, stepbrother, or stepsister; the father or mother, or an ancestor of either; a stepfather or stepmother; a son or daughter of a brother or sister; a brother or sister of the father or mother; a son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law; the spouse of the beneficiary or the spouse of any individual described above; or a first cousin of the beneficiary. Gift or generation-skipping transfer taxes may apply. Please consult with your tax advisor for further information.

Contributions to and earnings on the investments in the Savings Portfolio are insured by the FDIC to each account owner up to $250,000, the maximum amount set by federal law. No other investments are insured or guaranteed by IDeal. Investment returns will vary depending upon the performance of the Portfolios you choose. Depending on market conditions, you could lose all or a portion of your investment.

Ugift is an innovative online feature that allows you to invite family and friends to celebrate occasions with gift contributions to your IDeal account.

Upromise is a free to join rewards program that can turn every day purchases — from shopping online to dining out, from booking travel to buying groceries — into cash back for college. A percentage of your eligible spending will be deposited into your Upromise account. You can link your Upromise account to your 529 account and have your college savings automatically transferred. Visit Upromise.com to learn more and enroll.

529 plan assets are counted at different rates for the Student Aid Index (SAI) in the FAFSA formula. Federal guidelines are as follows:

1. If the student is a dependent, a 529 plan account is considered as the parent’s asset (if the account owner is the parent or the dependent student). As a result, it will generally be counted at a rate of only 3-6% of its value for the EFC.
2. If the student is not a dependent and is the account owner, the 529 plan account is treated as the student’s asset and is generally factored into the EFC at the higher rate of 20%.
3. In other cases, the account does not count as an asset for federal financial aid purposes. (However, a student may have to report distributions received from the account as income for these purposes.)

Beginning with FAFSA applications for the 2024-2025 academic year, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, distributions from a non-parent-owned 529 accounts will no longer need to be reported as the student’s taxable income on the FAFSA.

Note: Financial aid programs offered by educational institutions and other non-federal sources may have their own guidelines for the treatment of 529 plan accounts. For complete information about financial aid eligibility, you should consult with a financial aid professional and/or the state or educational institution offering a particular financial aid program, since rules and regulations often change.