It’s easy to open an account with VHEIP and it only takes $25 to get started! Go to the Open an Account page to learn more.

Choose how you want to give a gift that lasts a lifetime! It’s one of the most important investments you can make in a child’s future.

With VHEIP, it’s easy to give.

• Gift Option 1: Open a NEW VHEIP account for a beneficiary.
• Gift Option 2: Contribute to an EXISTING VHEIP account.
• Gift Option 3: Invite friends & family to contribute directly to your VHEIP accounts if you are already an existing account owner.
• Gift Option 4: Purchase or redeem a Gift of College gift card.

Go to the Give a Gift page for details.

Contribute as little as $25 as often as you like. The more you invest and the earlier you start, the more opportunity your money has to grow. What are the minimum and maximum contribution limits?

Choose how you’d like to contribute:

• Make a one-time contribution online at any time from a checking or savings account.

• Set up an automatic contribution plan from your checking or savings account to make recurring contributions to your VHEIP account(s):
  • You choose an amount (as little as $25).
  • You choose the schedule (monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc.).

Need to contribute, sign up for an automatic contribution plan, or make another change? Log in to your account at any time or see our Account Forms page.

Payroll deductions make contributing to your VHEIP account seamless and easy. Every little bit helps! If your employer allows, you can contribute through your paycheck for as little as $15 per pay period.

Employee

• Make sure you already have a VHEIP account established and are the account owner on any account(s) that you would like to receive your payroll deduction contributions.
• Check to see if your employer can submit payroll deduction through Automated Clearing House (ACH).
• Log in to sign up for payroll deductions with VHEIP and tell us how you want your payroll deduction contributions to be allocated across all of your accounts.
• VHEIP will then provide instructions that you can give to your employer to start the payroll deduction contributions.

Employer

• Have the employee provide you with a copy of the payroll deduction instructions they have been given by VHEIP.
• Submit payroll deduction contributions to VHEIP via Automated Clearing House (ACH) for each employee as follows:

Code the Account Type
Checking

Transmit to Bank Routing
# (ABA) 104000016 (First National Bank of Omaha)

Enter Account Number, a space, and the last 8 digits of the employees SSN/TIN
110487034_XXXXXXXX

Download the VHEIP Payroll Deduction Guidelines for additional information for employees and employers.

Need to sign up for payroll contributions or make another change? Log in to you account online at any time or see our Account Forms page.

Already have a 529 college savings plan account with another state? Or a Coverdell ESA or UGMA/UTMA for a child? If you’re a Vermont taxpayer, moving those assets to a VHEIP account may provide you with additional benefits, such as the Vermont state income tax credit on the contributions portion of the rollover and on future contributions you make into your VHEIP account. To be eligible for the Vermont income tax credit, the rollover funds must remain in VHEIP for the remainder of the tax year.

Before doing a rollover from another account, consider the differences in features and costs, and any possible tax consequences. Make sure to read the VHEIP Disclosure Booklet.

Transferring from another state’s 529 college savings plan?

• While all 529 plans share the federal and state tax deferment on earnings and tax exemption on qualified withdrawals, only contributions into a VHEIP account are eligible for the Vermont state income tax credit.
• You are permitted to transfer funds from another 529 college savings plan to an account in VHEIP for the same beneficiary once within a 12-month period.
• To make a transfer into your existing VHEIP account, complete the Incoming Rollover Form and return it to us.
• If you don’t yet have an account established with VHEIP, open a new VHEIP account. You will still need to complete the form and return it to us, so we can initiate the transfer request with the financial institution holding your funds.

Transferring from a Coverdell Education Savings Account?

• Funds in a Coverdell education savings account may also be used for K-12 education expenses.
• Funds in both Coverdell education saving accounts and 529 plans can be withdrawn tax-free for qualified higher education expenses. However, as a 529 plan, a VHEIP account is more flexible because it does not have the more restrictive annual contribution limits, age limits, and income limits of the Coverdell.
• To make a transfer into your existing VHEIP account, complete the Incoming Rollover Form and return it to us.
• If you don’t yet have an account established with VHEIP, open a new VHEIP account. You will still need to complete the form and return it to us, so we can initiate the transfer request with the financial institution holding your funds.

Transferring from an UGMA/UTMA account?

• If you have UGMA/UTMA account, which is technically considered to be owned by the beneficiary, you may still transfer the assets into a VHEIP account. You may not subsequently change beneficiaries on the VHEIP account, however; the assets must remain available for the use of the original beneficiary.
• Transferring UGMA/UTMA assets into VHEIP provides you with 529 plan benefits including tax deferred growth and tax exempt withdrawals for qualified education expenses and favorable treatment in financial aid formulas.
• To make a transfer into your existing VHEIP account, complete the Incoming Rollover Form and return it to us.
• If you don’t yet have a Custodial Account established with VHEIP, open a new VHEIP account as a custodial account (UGMA/UTMA). You will still need to complete the form and return it to us so we can initiate the transfer request with the financial institution holding your UGMA/UTMA funds.
• Transferring assets out of an UGMA/UTMA may result in taxes due. Consult your tax advisor.

Need to initiate an incoming rollover or make another change? See Account Forms.

Participants paying Vermont taxes may be able to claim the Vermont state income tax credit for contributions made to a VHEIP account. Said contributions may only be claimed by a single individual and may not be for a subsequent or future year.

Unsure how much you contributed during a certain tax year? Log in to view your Financial Statements which include a transaction summary at the end of each quarter outlining the tax year for each contribution received during that time period.

• On Schedule IN-119, VT Tax Adjustments and Non-Refundable Credits, enter the amount you contributed to VHEIP during the tax year under Part II, VT Income Tax Credits, line 1, VT Higher Education Investment credit, and calculate the credit per the instructions. Note: FEIN if required for online filers is 030216589.
• Enter your total tax credit amount (VHEIP plus any other Vermont tax credits you receive) on IN-111, Line 19.
• Paper filers may need to copy the annual VHEIP statement and include with forms when filing.

See the Vermont Official State Website for forms. For details and examples, including information on nonqualified withdrawals, see the Vermont Department of Taxes Technical Bulletin (TB-66).

Federal tax reform info: The federal tax act of 2017 includes provisions related to 529 plan accounts, beginning with the 2018 tax year. See the Disclosure Booklet for details. In 2022, Vermont tax law was updated to add the two new allowable use of funds withdrawn from a VT529 account without adverse impact on the Vermont income tax credit: (1) for apprenticeship programs registered and certified with the U.S. Secretary of Labor and (2) for repayment of up to $10,000 per the lifetime of a beneficiary in student loans for post-secondary education at an approved postsecondary education institution.

Once you invest in any of the six VHEIP investment portfolios, you can transfer those already invested contributions and any earnings to another VHEIP investment portfolio. This change is allowed up to two (2) times per calendar year per beneficiary. However, if you replace the account beneficiary with another qualifying family member at the same time, there is no federal limit on the number of times this change can occur.

You can also change the instructions of how your future contributions are allocated across your selected investment options at any time. There is no limit to the number of times you can do this.

Need to rebalance your account, change the allocation of your future contributions, or make another change? Log in to your account online at any time or see our Account Forms page.

For more about the investment options and performances, see Investment Options & Performance.

The account owner of the VHEIP account has all control of the funds. The account owner can change the beneficiary at any time to another member of the previous beneficiary’s family. As the account owner, you can even make yourself the beneficiary. If desired, you can also transfer account ownership to another individual, and/or name a contingent account owner.

Need to change an account owner, change a named beneficiary, or make another change? See Account Forms.

To change a mailing address, email, or to make any other administrative change for your accounts: Log in to your account online at any time, contact VHEIP toll-free at 1-800-637-5860, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am – 7:00 pm ET, or see our Account Forms page.

Federal tax reform info: The federal tax act of 2017 includes provisions related to 529 plan accounts, beginning with the 2018 tax year. See the Disclosure Booklet for details. In 2022, Vermont tax law was updated to add the two new allowable use of funds withdrawn from a VT529 account without adverse impact on the Vermont income tax credit: (1) for apprenticeship programs registered and certified with the U.S. Secretary of Labor and (2) for repayment of up to $10,000 per the lifetime of a beneficiary in student loans for post-secondary education at an approved postsecondary education institution. (See the VT Tax website for more.)

Important Notice Regarding Withdrawals:

• Withdrawal requests received in good order by close of the NYSE (usually 4 pm ET) will be processed on the business day on which it was received. Withdrawal requests received in good order after the close of the NYSE or on a holiday will be processed on the next business day.
• A withdrawal may be held under any of the following circumstances:
  • Your withdrawal includes funds from a contribution made within the last ten (10) days.
  • You have made a change to your mailing address within the last fifteen (15) days.
  • You are directing a withdrawal to a new bank account or other financial account that was established with the Plan within the last fifteen (15) days.
  • The account has been transferred to a new Account Owner within the last fifteen (15) days.
• In all circumstances referenced above, the withdrawal will be processed on the applicable trade date of when it was received, but funds will be held until the hold period has expired before being sent to the requested recipient.

When you request a withdrawal:

• Choose where and how the funds will be sent. You may have the funds sent to:
  • You (the account owner) by electronic deposit directly into your bank account. Allow 2 to 3 days for the deposit of funds once the transaction is processed.
  • You or your Beneficiary, by check via the mail. Allow 7 to 10 days for receipt of funds once the transaction is processed.
  • The eligible educational institution, by check via the mail. Allow 7 to 14 days for receipt of funds once the transaction is processed.
  • Worried about your funds getting there in time? Any funds sent by check will be sent via regular mail with the US Postal Service. If you need your funds sooner, you may request that the funds are sent to the account owner by electronic deposit.
• Designate whether the withdrawal is for:
  • Qualified higher education expenses. Keep receipts and other documents to substantiate education expenses. You are not required to submit these to make a withdrawal, but should keep them with your tax records.
  • Non-qualified withdrawal. The earnings portion of non-qualified withdrawals are subject to federal and Vermont income taxes and an additional 10% federal tax, and you must repay any Vermont state tax credit that was given for the withdrawn portion of the contributions.

Need to request a withdrawal or make another change? Log in to your account online at any time or see our Account Forms page.

Go paperless! Choose eDelivery. A $25 annual fee will apply for delivery of official plan documents (your statements, confirmations and/or plan disclosure information) via U.S. mail. This fee will be waived for tax forms. To learn more, please refer to the Disclosure Booklet.

Account owners can avoid this fee by signing up for eDelivery! Simply log in to your account, go to the Profile tab, and update your Delivery Options preferences.