So to be clear, I thought auditors (or IRS, whomever flags this on 529 contributions beyond the 1098 T) would need to be less than the COA. The COA that is used by the college seems to just be a number that is an average of costs- including housing and food- not the highest housing (and on-campus, apartments are higher than dorms) and not the highest food plan. I am not looking to be subject to a red flag here but also trying to withdraw and get reimbursed for what he is eating and cooking beyond a very small food plan. The difference between the college bill for the apartment and the small food plan is almost the amount of the COA total displayed on the college website. I am sure I am not the only parent where a student uses on-campus housing in an apartment but cooks most of the food themselves. So how does this really work when it is submitted, and how much of these are really audited to have to worry about all of this when it is not like he is eating steak daily BUT it is more than the total COA displayed
