Special Form helps State Tax Filers Direct Refunds to Higher Education Savings and Open Oregon College Savings Plan Accounts

Higher education savings streamlined for Oregonians with new tax form

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Mar 11, 2021, 11:14 ET

SALEM, Ore., March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Oregon College Savings Plan today announced the rollout of a new tax form that will streamline the process of saving for post-secondary education and job training for tax filers in Oregon.

With the Department of Revenue's OR-529 form, taxpayers can now elect to open an Oregon College Savings Plan account or deposit personal income tax refunds into preexisting Oregon College Savings Plan or MFS 529 Savings Plan accounts while filing their 2020 state tax returns.

"Saving for higher education and job training expenses is now as simple as checking a box on your tax return," said Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read. "This will help make it easier for Oregonians to get the skills they need to reach their goals, and lessen the need to take on college debt."

With this new option, individual taxpayers are able to deposit all or a portion of their refunds in up to four preexisting accounts. Deposits must be a minimum of $5 for the Oregon College Savings Plan and $25 for the MFS 529 Savings Plan.

"We are pleased to be able to take the work out of starting the college savings journey for Oregonians," said Michael Parker, Executive Director for the Oregon Treasury Savings Network.

The Oregon College Savings Plan had much to celebrate last year, bringing in over $255 million in contributions to almost 125,000 accounts and ending the year with more than $2.5 billion in assets under management.

The Oregon College Savings Plan is a state-sponsored savings program that comes with special tax advantages and can be opened by just about anyone—parents, family, friends, even future students. The money saved in the Oregon College Savings Plan grows tax-free and can be used for qualified expenses at any accredited, post-secondary institution or trade school. To learn more and to open an account, please visit www.oregoncollegesavings.com or call 866-772-8464.

The Oregon Treasury Savings Network, part of the Oregon State Treasury, was launched in January 2001 to administer the Oregon College Savings Plan. It has since expanded to administer the Oregon ABLE Savings Plan and national ABLE for ALL Savings Plan, and the first state-run retirement program, OregonSaves.

SOURCE Oregon College Savings Plan