教育规划
Education Planning
Education planning runs on two tracks: your child’s path from kindergarten to university, and where the tuition for all those years will come from. Our education team plans school choices and applications around your child’s interests and record, while your planner builds education funding with tools such as 529 plans and ranks it alongside retirement and home-buying goals.
FAQ
Questions families ask
What is a 529 plan, and is it right for us?
A 529 plan is a state-sponsored education savings account: investment growth is free of federal income tax, and withdrawals for qualified expenses such as tuition, books and housing are tax-free as well. California’s plan is ScholarShare 529. If your child is likely to attend college in the U.S. and your cash flow is steady, a 529 is usually one of the main tools for college costs; if your child may study abroad, first confirm the school is an eligible institution, because otherwise the earnings portion of a withdrawal is taxed plus a 10% federal additional tax.
What happens to money left in a 529?
You can change the beneficiary to another family member, such as a younger sibling, without tax. Since 2024, leftover funds can also be rolled into the beneficiary’s own Roth IRA if the account has been open at least 15 years, within the annual Roth IRA contribution limit and a $35,000 lifetime cap, and excluding contributions and earnings from the last five years. The earlier you open the account, the more useful that option becomes.
Can I use a 529 for private K–12 tuition?
For federal tax purposes, yes: starting in 2026, up to $20,000 per child per year can be withdrawn for kindergarten-through-12th-grade expenses, up from $10,000 before. California has not adopted this rule, so for California residents the earnings portion of a K–12 withdrawal is subject to state income tax plus a 2.5% state additional tax. Because it also leaves less money and less tax-free growth for college, we usually compare paying tuition directly with keeping the 529 for college when cash flow allows.
What should we know about sending a child from overseas to a U.S. high school?
Studying at a U.S. secondary school or college generally requires admission to an SEVP-certified school, which issues a Form I-20, followed by an F-1 student visa application at a U.S. consulate. F-1 students cannot attend public elementary or middle schools, and public high school is limited to 12 months in total with the full per-student cost paid to the district in advance, so most families choose private or boarding schools. Housing and guardianship arrangements should be settled during the application stage.
When should we start planning for college admissions?
For U.S. undergraduate admission, most of what goes into the application, such as course choices, grades and activities, takes shape in grades 9 through 11, so we generally suggest starting to plan courses and activities no later than grade 8 or 9. Transfers to private or boarding schools usually begin about a year ahead. Education funding should start as early as possible, because tax-free growth in a 529 needs time.
