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The student must be half time or more, in order for room and board to be considered qualified expenses for a 529 plan distribution.
If the student lives at home, you may use the school's Cost of attendance figure for board, for a 529 distribution. You may not claim "room" expense.
You daughter must be officially enrolled as a degree candidate to claim any college expense for a 529 plan. The school should be able to tell you her status. Some schools will not admit students to a degree program if they do not have a high school diploma or equivalent.
Again, a helpful response. I have a bit of homework to do to find out both degree and F/T, P/T status for both of them. That said, per college website, COA for R&B for students living with parents is 3861, while for those living independently it is 9750. I guess the difference between the two is the "room" expense?
I suspect the $3861 is all board. I would use that number, since the school specifically identifies it as "for students living with parents".
In pub 970, the degree requirement only appears i the credits and deductions section. In the 529 plan section, only the word "enrolled" is used.
I know this is a few years old now, but I don't see anything about room not being allowed but board being allowed as a qualified expense. All references in Pub 970 refer to both room and board being qualified. Has the law changed or am I missing something?
It depends what you are referring to. Room and Board is not a qualified educational expense to determine your educational credit but is a qualified expense to use your 529 plan to pay for these expenses.
Please review this link for further information regarding 529 Plan rules.
The rationale is this: board is not a fixed cost. The student has to eat wherever he is living. The costs of the parents home, "room", is fixed. Neither the parents or the student are out of pocket, for room, when the student lives at home.
But, you are right, you won't find that in Pub 970. But, the bottom line is: you are limited to the school's "allowance for attendance", which is usually less for students living at home.
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