Nebraska 529 tax deduction in 2026
The same ceiling for a single parent and a married couple, and a K-12 rule with a start date three years away.
Nebraska tax saved on this contribution
$273
4.6 % of what you put in comes back on your 2026 return.
| Subtracted from state income | $6,000 |
| Your state marginal rate | 4.55 % |
| Cap that applies this year | $10,000 |
| Back per $1,000 contributed | $46 |
Nebraska: The account owner (or UGMA/UTMA custodian parent) deducts annual contributions to plans of the Nebraska Educational Savings Plan Trust, up to $10,000 per return for single, head of household and married filing jointly ($5,000 married filing separately); other states' plans do not qualify. Read on 2026-10-19. No federal deduction exists for 529 contributions.
| Taxable income | Marginal rate | Tax saved |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | 4.55 % | $215 |
| $100,000 | 4.55 % | $273 |
| $200,000 | 4.55 % | $273 |
| $400,000 | 4.55 % | $273 |
Worked out by Radif Partners · How we calculate · Nebraska rule read on October 19, 2026, brackets of tax year 2026 · not tax advice
Nebraska lets the account owner deduct up to $10,000 of contributions a year to plans of the Nebraska Educational Savings Plan Trust, and the figure is the same on a single return, a head of household return and a joint return; married couples filing separately get half each. A single parent at $55,000 who deposits $10,000 saves $455, exactly what a couple at $130,000 saves on the same amount, because both reach the 4.55 % top rate. Other states' plans earn nothing, but a rollover into a Nebraska plan is deductible. K-12 tuition withdrawals are Nebraska non-qualified withdrawals until January 1, 2029, which means recapture of past deductions and tax on the earnings. Moving the account to another state's 529 or to an ABLE program counts as cancelling it and is recaptured on Schedule I. The NEST accounts of one beneficiary accept contributions up to $550,000.
| Benefit for contributions | Deduction |
|---|---|
| Cap | $10,000 single, $10,000 joint per return |
| Another state’s plan counts | No, in-state plan only |
| State plans (official names, no recommendation) | NEST Direct College Savings Plan, NEST Advisor College Savings Plan |
| Account balance limit | $550,000 |
| K-12 withdrawals qualified for state tax | No |
| 529 to Roth IRA rollover qualified | Not stated by the state |
| Student loan payments qualified | Yes |
| Add-back on a rollover to another state’s plan | Yes |
One ceiling for every filing status
Many states double the cap on a joint return. Nebraska does not. The Department of Revenue FAQ sets $10,000 per return for single, head of household and married filing jointly, and half that on each separate return. For a married couple, the deduction per spouse is in effect half of what a single parent gets.
A couple at $130,000 who put $10,000 into each of two children's accounts contribute $20,000 and deduct $10,000, saving $455, the same as a single filer who stops at $10,000. The single parent at $55,000 and that couple both save $455 on their first $10,000: Nebraska's 2026 schedule reaches its top rate at $24,760 single and $49,530 joint. Those 2026 brackets come from a draft schedule the Department published in August 2026.
Nebraska deduction, single or joint
Nebraska tax saved on this contribution
$341
| Subtracted from state income | $7,500 |
| Your state marginal rate | 4.55 % |
| Cap that applies this year | $10,000 |
| Back per $1,000 contributed | $46 |
Who may claim it
The deduction belongs to the account owner. A parent who acts as custodian of a UGMA or UTMA account that holds 529 money can claim it too. The FAQ names only those two; a grandparent giving to an account someone else owns is not mentioned.
NEST plans only, and the cost of leaving them
The FAQ lists four plans in the trust: NEST Direct, NEST Advisor and two other plans; whether those two still run under the names the FAQ gives was not checked. Nothing paid into another state's 529 counts. A couple at $130,000 who put $6,000 a year into an out-of-state plan instead gives up $273 a year, $3,276 over twelve years.
Nebraska plan or another state's
Lost by leaving the Nebraska plan
$3,276
| Yearly saving, home plan | $273 |
| Yearly saving, other plan | $0 |
| Gap over the years | $3,276 |
Money can come in from elsewhere: the Department says a rollover into a Nebraska plan is deductible. Money going out is the opposite case. Rolling assets to an out-of-state 529 or ABLE program is treated as cancelling the participation agreement, and the deductions come back on Schedule I for that year.
Nebraska Schedule I add-back on a rollover out
Nebraska tax if the deductions come back
$1,092
| Amount added back | $24,000 |
| Your state marginal rate | 4.55 % |
K-12 tuition: a date, not a yes
Federal law treats up to $20,000 a year of K-12 costs as qualified from 2026. Nebraska does not yet. The NEST Direct supplement of June 30, 2025 makes K-12 tuition a Nebraska qualified expense only from January 1, 2029, with a cap per beneficiary. Until then a withdrawal for private school tuition brings back the deduction and taxes the earnings. Apprenticeship costs and loan repayments are already Nebraska qualified expenses.
A 2026 bill, LB 748, is reported to add credential programs and raise the 2029 K-12 limit to the federal figure. Its final text and signature were not confirmed from an official source, so this page treats it as pending. The same goes for 529 to Roth IRA rollovers, where no official Nebraska statement was found.