Do 529 Plans Cover Off-Campus Housing and Meals?

Can you use a 529 plan to pay for off-campus housing and meals? You can, but it is subject to a reimbursement limit.
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Articles:
Notre Dame: financialaid.nd.edu/how-aid-w...
Michigan State: admissions.msu.edu/cost-aid
UCLA: admission.ucla.edu/tuition-ai...
Harvard: college.harvard.edu/financial...
www.usnews.com/education/best...
Mike Bernard, CFP® offers advisory services through KFG Wealth Management, LLC dba Korhorn Financial Group. This information is for general financial education and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations. All investing and investment strategies involve risk including the potential loss of principal. Asset allocation & diversification do not ensure a profit or prevent a loss in a declining market. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

[@myceliummm]

Thanks for the great info!

[@laurajian4808]

Thank you for the information 👍👍😁

[@draxxbergeron3083]

I appreciate the concise yet very informative video. I thought this was the case as I'm currently "shopping around" for confirmation. I was previously unaware of the Cost of Attendance information provided by each school. It's kind of a sad day when you learn that your daughter attends a school more expensive than Harvard... but it's not Harvard. At least, she is set to graduate at the end of this semester -- i.e., my last payment to the institution has been sent. This info will help me as I continue to pay for my son's college as he plans to now live off-campus. Nevertheless, thank you for the video.

[@kmdotski]

Thank you for the great information on 529 plans. Our child is living off campus and the school's COA amount is the same for on and off campus living. If the school our child attends breaks out the COA just like the example from Notre Dame that you shared with room and meals lumped into one figure, are we supposed to divide this by 2 to get the amount for housing (50%) and meals (50%)? Or if his rent is more than 50%, can he use that portion to cover all his rent and the remaining amount to cover food costs. If the food costs go above that amount, they would come from out of pocket.

[@Donnajwong]

How do you keep track of food costs? That seems like a huge hassle. Or do you just take the university advertised cost of attendance and use that figure?

[@richd7916]

My daughter is getting a medical imaging degree. first two years are at a state university. 2nd two years are at a medical college. The full 4 years are billed by the university and she appears as a university student even though she is taking classes and living at one of 4 medical colleges run by hospitals 10 to 60 miles away for the last two years. The university coa for housing is $6000 per year. The medical college lists $11000 for housing and has no on campus housing. For her last two years what is her limit? 6K or 11K?

[@davidkim3854]

Travel is a qualified expense?