State of Illinois 529 plans and paying private high school tuition

Forum|Forum|4 months ago
February 6, 2026
2 replies
7 views

I have a 529 plan in the state of Illinois (Bright Start). I received a 1099-Q for paying my grandson’s private school tuition. The tuition was sent directly to the high school. The distribution is free from federal income tax. However, the earnings on the distribution are taxable for our state income tax.

Using TurboTax 2025 premier: In federal tax section, I go to less common income, then Miscellaneous Income, then Form 1099-Q. I have tried various combination of entries, but nothing seems to give the accurate results.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you

529 Plan

Best answer by AmyC

Expert Reviewed

Follow these steps to enter the IL income.

Open your return to IL
Go through until you reach Here's the income that IL handles differently
Scroll down to Education
Locate Distributions from a 529 college savings, tuition and ABLE programs
Start
Enter state taxable amount

AmyCAnswer

Level 15

Expert Reviewed

Follow these steps to enter the IL income.

Open your return to IL
Go through until you reach Here's the income that IL handles differently
Scroll down to Education
Locate Distributions from a 529 college savings, tuition and ABLE programs
Start
Enter state taxable amount

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HermitAuthor

Level 2

Thanks Worked like a charm!!!

Hal_Al

Level 15

@Hermit said:

I received a 1099-Q for paying my grandson’s private school tuition. The tuition was sent directly to the high school.

For 529 plans, there is an “owner” (usually the parent, but grandparent is not unusual), and a “beneficiary” (usually the student dependent). The "recipient" of the distribution can be either the owner or the beneficiary depending on who the money was sent to. When the money goes directly from the Qualified Tuition Plan (QTP) to the school, the student is usually the "recipient". The distribution will be reported on IRS form 1099-Q.
The 1099-Q gets reported on the recipient's return. The recipient's name & SS# will be on the 1099-Q.