What is superfunding a 529 with the 5-year gift election?

Superfunding lets you front-load a 529 with a large lump sum without triggering gift tax. Normally, gifts above the annual exclusion ($19,000 per recipient in 2025, or $38,000 for a married couple) eat into your lifetime gift-tax exemption. The 5-year election lets you treat a single large 529 contribution as if it were spread evenly over five years — so you can put in up to $95,000 ($190,000 for a couple) per beneficiary at once and report it as five years of annual-exclusion gifts. This gives the money more time to compound tax-free. The catch: you can't make additional excludable gifts to that same person for five years, and if you die during the period a prorated portion returns to your estate. It's a powerful tool for grandparents doing estate planning.