"Room and Board" expenses, 1/2 of the actual expenses were paid from a 529 the other 1/2 paid out of pocket. Do you only enter the 1/2 amount in the Room and Board field?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
June 3, 2019
1 reply
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I assume TT will bounce the amount against the 1099-Q and adjust the amount of tax refund?

TurboTax Deluxe Windows

LeeM

Employee

You should enter the total amount of Room and Board to make sure you get credit for it against your 529 distribution.

Room and board is usually not considered a qualified education expense for the purpose of education credits.

However, the one exception is if room and board was paid for with a Coverdell ESA or 529 plan distribution. In that case, the cost can be deducted from the taxable portion of the plan's distribution.

chuckiaf

After entering the info from the 1099-Q (distribution from 529) and the 1098-T (tuition from college), I can't figure out how to enter room and board costs using 529 money. The way the TT form works, there doesn't seem to be a way to deduct it from the taxable portion of the distribution. Help...

Hal_Al

Employee

You do not enter "room and board costs using 529 money"

You just enter room and board, without trying to tell TurboTax (TT) where the money, to pay for it, came from. TT will match the college expenses to the 529 distribution. TT will use tuition for the tuition credit before it uses it for the 529.

To get the screen to enter Room & Board, answer yes when asked if you have book expenses.