First off, I am 100% aware of the allowance for a $2500 deduction per beneficiary to the MD 529 college investment plan. I have two children, each with their own 529 account, who obviously are classified in TurboTax as dependents of my wife and I (married filing jointly). We have contributed over $2500 for each of my children, and TurboTax only asks for the total contribution overall (not per beneficiary). It seems like the # of beneficiaries is not specified, so I'm wondering if we are only reaping the benefit of a $2500 tax deduction (for 1 beneficiary) or a $5000 tax deduction (for 2 beneficiaries). Does TurboTax just assume the total entered applies to our 2 beneficiaries? Can anyone provide definitive insight on this?
The $2500 is per contributor, per beneficiary. As a MFJ couple, that means up to $5,000 per beneficiary - up to $2500 from each of you as a contributor.
The state of MD form just lists a total. Enter your total amount up to $2500 per contributor, per beneficiary. So, two kids could be up to $10,000 entered.
Reference: Tax Advantages | Maryland 529
Form 502SU
Thank you. So it's fair to assume we can receive a maximum of a $10K deduction between my two children and the "two contributors", my wife and I? Even if all contributions came from one of us (i.e. one account)?