H.R.1. expands 529 saving plans coverage to postsecondary training and credentialing
“The One Big Beautiful Bill” expands qualified expenses under 529 savings plans to include postsecondary training and credentialing.
“This means that more professionals can access vital education, strengthening our workforce pipeline,” The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) says in an email.
Tomorrow’s Workforce Coalition, organization under the ASAE umbrella, defines a 529 plan as a state-sponsored education savings option that is exempt from federal taxes. The funds must be used to pay for qualified education expenses such as college, graduate or professional degrees. This can include programs from Title IV accredited institutions, registered apprenticeship programs, certain student loan repayments and up to $10k a year for K-12 tuition.
Prior to the act, training and credentials are ineligible for 529s, Tomorrow’s Workforce Coalition says. It adds that the workforce is mostly of middle-skill jobs that require more than a high school education but not a bachelor’s degree.
A provision of the act expands 529 to include “qualified postsecondary credentialing expenses, defined as tuition, fees, books, and other supplies required for enrollment or attendance in a program designed to provide certain qualified postsecondary employment credentials.”
“The investment by our members and other nonprofit organizations in ASAE’s coalitions was critical for ensuring that the voices of the association community were heard in the 2025 tax reform debate,” said Michelle Mason, FASAE, CAE, ASAE president and CEO in a release. “We thank Congress for their engagement with association leaders in shaping this tax bill. Coalitions like these will continue to be essential in educating members of Congress about the important role associations play in our economy.”
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