If you put money in a my529 account, what can you spend it on?

Pay for pencils.

Pay for books.

Pay for the ramen your student cooks?

A 529 plan is an investment vehicle designed to save specifically for qualified educational expenses. my529, Utah’s official state plan, offers certain tax advantages when funds are used for those expenses, and penalties when used for anything else.

Then what is a qualified educational expense? my529 can offer some answers. (Spoiler alert: ramen may be included).

The largest costs that my529 funds can cover are tuition and room and board. Money from 529 plans can be used at any college, university, trade school or technical college that is qualified to participate in federal student aid programs. That includes institutions in Utah, the United States and abroad. Room and board is an eligible expense for students enrolled at least half time at one of these institutions. This includes off-campus apartments, utilities, internet access and even food, if total funds used do not exceed the cost of attendance set by the college.

Another eligible expense category is books and supplies. That first trip to the bookstore — to find expensive, massive textbooks for which your student already has large reading assignments — can be less overwhelming with my529 funds invested ahead of time.

Computers, peripheral equipment, educational software and internet access are also eligible expenses.

If your student is interested in different kinds of professional education or if they already have a degree, you can use 529 funds for qualified postsecondary credentialing expenses, registered apprenticeship expenses, and even student loan repayments, up to certain limits. (Don’t forget — your
K-12 student’s expenses for public, private or religious schools can also be included, up to certain limits, with expanded uses as of 2025.)

Earnings on my529 investments are federal and state tax-deferred, then tax-free when spent on qualified educational expenses.

College costs saved for and tax advantages claimed are two reasons to begin investing for your child’s or grandchild’s future with my529 — and they can worry about ramen when the time comes.