Room And Board Expenses 529 Plan

A student does not have live on campus or in college approved housing for room and board to qualify as an education expense.

Room and board expenses 529 plan.

Students who live off campus are limited. Room and board whether you live on campus or off you can use your 529 plan spending for your room and board expenses. However there are rules. Always try to pay room and board expenses directly to the university or landlord with a distribution check from the plan.

The room and board expenses must be incurred while the student is enrolled at a college or university that is eligible for title iv federal student aid. As of 2012 529 plan funds could be used to cover room and board expenses up to the actual amount charged to the student if they reside in campus housing. While you absolutely can use 529 college savings plans to pay for room and board expenses taking a few precautions will make it easier for you come tax time. A 529 plan only covers expenses that are related to post secondary education see below for using a 529 plan for elementary education.

Using your 529 plan to pay for room and board room and board costs make up a large portion of a student s total college bill second only to tuition. Year after year you and your child have been saving for college through a 529 savings account. Required textbooks and supplies. Criteria for room and board as a qualified distribution you can use a 529 plan distribution to pay for a student s room and board expenses if the student is enrolled at least half time.

Now college is closer and it s time to think about spending the money you ve put aside. If the student lives off campus qualified room and board costs are limited to what is included in the college s cost of attendance coa allowance for room and board for the period. Withdrawals from 529 plans are called distributions and. You can use a 529 plan to pay for room and board but only if certain requirements are met.

The caveat here is that your off campus housing costs can t be higher than you d pay to live on campus if you want to use 529 funds. Yes the cost of off campus room and board may be a qualified education expense for 529 plans if certain criteria are met. Most qualified expenses cannot exceed the cost estimates made by the school that the 529 beneficiary will be attending. Room and board includes the cost of housing and the cost of a meal plan.