Can I use one 529 account for multiple children?

A 529 has a single named beneficiary at a time, so you can't split one account simultaneously among several kids. But you can use one account sequentially: name your oldest child, spend down what they need, then change the beneficiary to a younger sibling for the remaining balance — beneficiary changes among family members are penalty-free. Many families instead open a separate 529 for each child for cleaner tracking and to let each kid's age-based portfolio match their own timeline. There's no extra cost to multiple accounts, and you can move money between siblings' accounts if one needs more. If you're unsure how many children you'll have, starting one account and re-designating beneficiaries later is perfectly fine. Separate accounts are usually the simpler choice once you have more than one child.