Are 529 Contributions Tax Deductible in Wisconsin?

Yes, 529 contributions are tax deductible in Wisconsin, but only when the money goes into one of the state’s two official plans. For the 2026 tax year, you can subtract up to $5,280 per beneficiary from your Wisconsin taxable income, or $2,640 if you’re married filing separately.¹ The deduction is available to any Wisconsin taxpayer who contributes, not just the account owner, and anything above the annual limit carries forward to future years.

How Much You Can Deduct

Wisconsin treats 529 contributions as a subtraction from federal adjusted gross income on your state return. The 2026 limits are $5,280 per beneficiary for single filers and joint filers, and $2,640 for married filing separately.¹ If you’re filing for an earlier year, the per-beneficiary cap was $5,130 for 2025 ($2,560 MFS) and $5,000 for 2024 ($2,500 MFS).² The state adjusts these numbers for inflation each year.

The limit applies per beneficiary, per contributor. Contribute to accounts for three children and you can deduct up to $5,280 for each one. If you and your spouse both contribute to the same child’s account and file jointly, you share a single $5,280 limit for that beneficiary.

Actual tax savings depend on your marginal rate. Wisconsin’s four brackets run from 3.50% to 7.65%.³ At the top rate, a $5,280 deduction saves roughly $404 per beneficiary. At the lowest bracket, the same deduction is worth about $185. Across multiple children and multiple years, that adds up.

Which 529 Plans Qualify

The deduction only applies to contributions made to one of Wisconsin’s two state-sponsored 529 plans. Contributions to another state’s plan do not qualify, even if that plan is otherwise a reasonable investment.¹ The two qualifying plans are:

Edvest 529, the direct-sold plan, which can be opened online with as little as $25.
Tomorrow’s Scholar, the advisor-sold plan, which requires a minimum of $250 per investment option.

The total lifetime contribution limit across both plans is $589,650 per beneficiary. If you already have money sitting in another state’s 529, you can roll the principal into Edvest or Tomorrow’s Scholar and claim the Wisconsin deduction on the rollover amount, subject to the annual per-beneficiary cap.²

Who Can Claim It

Any Wisconsin taxpayer who makes a contribution can claim the deduction on their own return. You do not have to be the account owner. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and family friends can each deduct contributions up to the annual limit per beneficiary.¹ The only requirement is filing a Wisconsin return for the year the contribution was made.

Because the limit tracks the contributor rather than the account, multiple family members can support the same student while each receiving a separate tax benefit. A grandparent and a parent could each contribute $5,280 to the same child’s account and each deduct the full amount.

Deadline and Carryforward

Contributions don’t have to be made within the calendar year. Wisconsin gives you until April 15 of the following year to contribute and still claim the deduction for the prior tax year. Contributions designated for 2025, for instance, must be deposited by April 15, 2026.² That extra window is useful if you’re waiting on a year-end bonus or a tax refund to fund the account.

When you contribute more than the annual limit in a single year, the excess automatically carries forward. You can claim it in a later year as long as your total deduction for that beneficiary that year doesn’t exceed the annual cap in effect.² Carryforward amounts have no expiration.

Here’s how it works in practice. Contribute $8,000 for one beneficiary in 2026, deduct $5,280 that year, and carry forward $2,720. In 2027, you can deduct that $2,720 provided your total deduction for that beneficiary (new contributions plus carryforward) stays within the 2027 limit. This makes the carryforward especially useful for lump-sum contributions from a gift or inheritance.

How to Report the Deduction

Claiming the subtraction takes two forms. First, complete Wisconsin Schedule CS with the beneficiary’s name and the dollar amount contributed. That amount flows to line 10 of Schedule SB, the form for all subtractions from income.⁴ The Schedule SB total then moves to line 6 of Wisconsin Form 1 (or Form 1NPR for part-year and nonresident filers), reducing the income used to calculate your state tax.⁵

Before you file, gather the account number, the account owner’s legal name, the beneficiary’s name, and the total contributed during the year plus any contributions made by April 15 that you’re assigning to the prior year. Keep year-end statements from the plan administrator. They are your proof if the Department of Revenue asks for verification.

You can file electronically through the Department of Revenue’s My Tax Account system. E-filed returns with direct deposit typically produce refunds within three weeks; paper returns can take up to 12 weeks if flagged by fraud or error screening.⁶

When Wisconsin Takes the Deduction Back

The state deduction is contingent on the money eventually being used for qualified education expenses. If you take a non-qualified withdrawal, you’ll owe the 10% federal penalty on the earnings, and Wisconsin requires you to add back to taxable income any amount you previously deducted for contributions made after December 31, 2013, to the extent the withdrawal triggered the federal penalty.² The add-back reverses the state tax benefit you originally claimed.

Two other situations trigger a recapture. If you roll 529 funds into an ABLE account and the rollover exceeds the annual ABLE contribution limit, the excess is added back to Wisconsin income. The same rule applies to a 529-to-Roth IRA rollover that exceeds the applicable federal limits.² And if you withdraw contributions within 365 days of making them, Wisconsin uses a first-in, first-out method to figure out how much of the previously deducted amount comes back into income.

The recapture only reaches amounts you actually deducted. Contributions above the annual deduction cap that were never subtracted from income aren’t subject to add-back.

Withdrawals used for qualified higher education expenses, up to $20,000 per year in K-12 tuition in 2026 ($10,000 in 2025), registered apprenticeship costs, and up to $10,000 in lifetime student loan payments per beneficiary all count as qualified and don’t trigger the state add-back.¹

1
Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions. Wisconsin 529 College Savings Program
2
Department Of Revenue. College Savings Accounts
3
Wisconsin Department of Revenue. DOR Tax Rates
4
Wisconsin Department of Revenue. 2025 Schedule SB, Form 1 – Subtractions from Income
5
Wisconsin Department of Revenue. 2025 Schedule SB Instructions – Subtractions from Income
6
Wisconsin State Legislature. Electronic Filing – Paying Your Taxes or Receiving Your Refund – Common Questions