Information for financial professionals

Help your clients reach their college savings goals

With 20 years of 529 experience, Ohio's 529 plan is one of the oldest, largest and most respected 529 plans in the country. Ohio offers financial professionals the option to offer your clients the CollegeAdvantage Direct investment plan or the BlackRock CollegeAdvantage Advisor plan. Each plan offers their own unique choice of quality investment options managed by leading fund managers. You can choose to work exclusively with one type of plan or choose to open a direct account and advisor account for your clients.

Why choose Ohio's 529 Plan for your clients?

$2,000 Ohio state tax deduction. If your client is an Ohio resident, contributions they make to a CollegeAdvantage account can be deducted from their Ohio taxable income. Ohio residents can deduct up to $2,000 in contributions per year per beneficiary and can carry those deductions forward indefinitely.

Income tax benefits. Pay no federal or state of Ohio income taxes on your earnings when you withdraw the money to pay for qualified higher education expenses.

Gift tax benefits. Special gift-tax exclusion enabling you to make five year’s worth of gifts (up to $65,000 or $130,000 for married couples) in a single year to a single beneficiary without triggering the federal gift tax¹.

Estate tax benefits. Contributes are removed from your estate for estate tax purposes, even though you retain control over the assets.

High contribution limit. Your clients can contribute up to $345,000 per beneficiary.

Asset protection. Ohio's 529 plan may also help protect Ohio resident's assets. Under Ohio law, the assets in CollegeAdvantage qualify for preferential treatment and may be shielded from creditors in certain cases.

Account owner maintains control. Your clients never lose control of their account, so they can be sure their savings are spent wisely. They decide when and how money is withdrawn to pay for college. If their student decides not to attend college, they can name a new beneficiary, or choose to leave the funds in the account. If your clients need their savings for another purpose, they can withdraw the funds.

¹Contributions to 529 college savings plans are generally treated as gifts to the beneficiary for federal gift tax purposes, including generation-skipping transfer taxes, and are subject to an annual federal gift tax exclusion amount ($13,000 for 2010). Contributors to 529 college savings plans may elect to treat contributions in excess of that amount (up to $65,000 for 2010) as prorated over 5 years. Election is made by filing a federal gift tax return. While contributions are generally excludable from contributor’s gross estate, if electing contributor dies during 5-year period, amounts allocable to years after death are includable in contributor’s gross estate. Consult your tax advisor.