Are international elementary schools eligible schools for 529 plan withdrawals?

[mhsieh33]

Hi,

My daughter goes to an international elementary school in Hong Kong.  Would we be able to withdraw up to $10,000 per year to pay for her school tuition?  I see on page 51 of Publication 970 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf

Eligible elementary or secondary school. An eligible
elementary or secondary school is any public, private, or
religious school that provides elementary or secondary
education (kindergarten through grade 12), as determined
under state law.

So does this mean the elementary school needs to be in a US state?  I tried calling the IRS helpline but they did not give me an answer and suggested I ask an accountant.

Thanks,

Mike

[LinaJ2018]

No, they are not, unfortunately.  As IRS allows some international colleges or universities for the education benefits, they don't consider education expenses paid for international elementary and secondary schools as eligible for 529 plan withdrawals.

[procon4]

Thanks, @LinaJ2018 

Is there any official documentation that can be linked to this thread?

[DawnC]

An eligible elementary or secondary school is any public, private, or religious school that provides elementary or secondary education (kindergarten through grade 12), as determined under state law.   See Pub 970, Eligible elementary or secondary schools

@procon4

[jaspervic]

That's true about state law, but if one were to transfer from a foreign school to a school within the state, would the state not recognize the child's prior education? Conversely, does state law specifically prohibit recognizing foreign educational institutions as valid criteria for entry into an elementary or high school? This is clearly a gray area.

[xmasbaby0]

@jaspervic What does your question have to do with income taxes?   This is a user forum for questions about income tax and the software to prepare income tax returns.   We cannot answer general questions regarding the public education system.

[jaspervic]

The original question was whether they could withdraw funds without a tax penalty to pay for elementary school in a foreign country.  The most recent answer given refers to the publication that "an eligible elementary or secondary school is any public, private, or religious school that provides elementary or secondary education (kindergarten through grade 12), as determined under state law." The question was whether it could be used for a foreign school. While that is not strictly prohibited by federal law, state law also does not require that the 529 withdrawal (which is a state-sponsored plan) be used in that particular state, lending credence to the argument that a foreign elementary or secondary school would be recognized by the state even if it is not in that state (or country).