How to Make a 2014 529 Plan Contribution

You have until April 15 or the date you file your taxes to make a 2014 529 plan contribution, if you are an Oregon resident (or a resident of another state that permits prior-year contributions to be made up until tax filing). But how do you do it? It depends on how you’re making your contribution.

If you’re making the contribution online, there are radio buttons allowing you to identify whether the contribution is for the current year or prior year. If you’re making the contribution by check, make sure to write “2014 contribution” in the memo line.

Keep in mind that you will not receive a revised 2014 year-end statement that includes these contributions, and you’ll want to verify that your 2015 statements don’t include these contributions as current year contributions. It’s best to come up with a manual system for tracking prior year contributions. On the good side, it appears (though no one I spoke with at the Oregon College Savings Plan would say so directly so don’t quote me on this) that this information isn’t reported directly directly to the OR Department of Revenue or the IRS; the bigger tax focus appears to be on the distribution end of 529 plans.