COtax_creditpct_of_payroll

Tax Credit for Employer Contributions to Employee 529 Qualified State Tuition Programs

CO-EMP-529 · Colorado

Summary

Colorado income tax credit equal to 20% of the contributions an employer makes during the tax year to a 529 qualified state tuition program account established by CollegeInvest and owned by an employee. Maximum credit: $500 per employee per year. Available for tax years 2019-01-01 through 2031-12-31. Employee may also be the named beneficiary (or have any other family member as beneficiary) so long as the employee is the account owner.

Benefit

Percentage: 20% of investment
Flat: —
Duration: —
Max annual: $500 (taxpayer)
Max total: — (taxpayer)
Carryforward: —

Program metadata

Distribution: taxpayer_earned
Claimant subject: business
Refund/transfer election: none
Program family: —
Effective: —
Sunset: 2031-12-31
Application deadline: —
Transfer discount: —

Hard requirements (1)

industry_keywordEmployer must contribute to a CollegeInvest 529 qualified state tuition program account owned by an employee. Contributions to non-CollegeInvest 529 accounts (e.g., other states' plans) do not qualify.

Preference / tiering rules (0)

None.

NAICS industries (0)

Any.

Geo zones (1)

statewide — · Colorado Statewide

Tags (2)

reported_on_form: DR_0289
per_employee_cap_usd: 500

Source

https://tax.colorado.gov/income-tax-topics-529-employer-contribution-credit

§ 39-22-539, C.R.S.; HB18-1217

Last verified: 2026-04-30

CO-statewide. Per-employee cap of $500/yr (modeled as benefit_max_annual with scope=taxpayer — interpreting as per-employee within an employer's aggregate; the schema does not have a per-employee cap field). Employer-side credit. Carryforward allowed for excess credit. Reported via DR 0289.