Employer Contributions

There is no cost at all to you, or your employees. We provide lunch and all materials. This is a free service offered through the State of Colorado.

As a not-for-profit State agency, CollegeInvest doesn’t sell anything. Our Lunch & Learn presentations are purely educational and designed to benefit your employees.

It is a post-tax direct deposit from an employee’s paycheck, directly into their 529 account. Think of it like the standard direct deposit; it is NOT a payroll deduction. When an employee opens a 529, they receive an account number and a routing number. They provide this information, along with the amount they’d like to have deposited from each paycheck, to your payroll department. In the event your company has self-portals where employees manage their benefits themselves, then you don’t have any involvement at all.

Anyone can open and contribute to a CollegeInvest 529, regardless of which state they live in. Non-residents will not receive the Colorado state income tax deduction, but they will still enjoy the federal tax-free growth. We have tools and resources available to help your employees in other states take advantage of the best plan for them, if it’s a Colorado plan or one from their home state.

You can schedule online, email us at employers@collegeinvest.org or call 303-376-8804.

This is a common concern we hear. Rest assured, we want to support your employees regardless of the size of your group. Just reach out to us and we’ll work with you to figure it out.

We usually ask you allow one hour for the presentation and Q & A. If you need us to customize the time for you, that’s no problem.

No worries - we’ll host as many lunch & learns for as many shifts as you need.

Absolutely. We often participate in enrollment meetings, benefit fairs, quarterly staff meetings, etc.

We do! We often host a lunch & learn on-site and then a follow-up webinar for employees who were unable to attend in-person. You can schedule a webinar here.

Form DR 0289, titled Employer Contributions to Employee 529 Qualified State Tuition Program, can be found here

Colorado families tell us that they’re already saving as much as they possibly can. And 93% of them wish their employer would help. Meaningful benefits DO make a difference in retaining your employees.

For every dollar an employer contributes to an employee’s CollegeInvest 529 account, the employer receives a 20% tax credit, up to a maximum of $500 per employee per year. So, an employer could give up to $2,500 per employee and receive $500 for each person. Read the official tax law here.

There is no limit to what you can contribute, however, the tax credit will max out at $2,500 per employee, per year.

No. Any size company can participate.

No. This program is not subject to the nondiscrimination rule or the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

Yes, there are no restrictions on the type (S-Corp, LLC, etc.) or size of employer. Whether the new business tax credit or the traditional, personal dollar-for-dollar deduction is more advantageous to you will depend on your particular business operations. We encourage you to consult with a tax professional for advice.

Yes, and it is subject to taxes and withholdings, just as their salary is.

The law specifies that in order for a business to receive the tax credit, the contribution must be made to an employee’s account. If, for instance, your employee’s spouse is the account owner, this will not meet the standard of the tax law. So, have your employee open a new account in their name at https://www.collegeinvest.org/enroll-529-savings-plan/.

Deposits will show up approximately two weeks from the date we receive your funds. They are fully vested immediately.

No, you can enroll and start contributing any time at employers.collegeinvest.org.

It’s completely up to you. Some employers are doing a 529 Match, others are contributing as a bonus or when an employee has a new baby or work anniversary. There are many creative ways to contribute. Here are some suggestions.

Video tutorials, as well as FAQs, are available once you log in or enroll on the portal.

You will need basic information, such as company address, contact info and SSN/TIN. You will also need to select the month that your company’s fiscal year ends. You may also add an optional secondary contact.

Your employees need to provide you with their CollegeInvest account number(s). For privacy reasons, CollegeInvest cannot provide you with this information. If your employee does not know their account number, have them call us directly at 800-448-2424 and we will help them locate it.

Once you’ve entered an Employee (Employees menu, Add Employee) into the system, simply select their name, click on the “Record Contribution” button and fill in the amount you want to contribute. You have the option of funding the contribution via Check, ACH or Wire Transfer. Funding instructions will be emailed to you upon recording of your contribution.

You can search for contributions under Contributions, Contribution Management. There you have the ability to search by employee name, date and account number.

The Employee Management screen (Employees menu) will allow you to search employees by name or account number.

There is no limit on the number of accounts an employee can have. You’ll enter each account separately, as if you are entering each one as a new employee. You can split your contribution among more than one account, if you wish.

As often, and whenever, you want.

From the Reports menu, you can access a fiscal year-end report that will detail all contributions made that year, detailed by employee.

Employers must complete Form DR 0289, titled Employer Contributions to Employee 529 Qualified State Tuition Program. The form can be found at https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/tax/credit-subtraction-forms near the bottom under Other Forms.

Give us a call at 303-376-8813 and we will make that change for you.

Generally, approximately two weeks from the date we receive your funds.

No problem! For questions related to using this portal and making contributions, please reach out to us at 303-376-8813 or email us at employers@collegeinvest.org.