I know expenses paid at the end of the calendar year for a term starting in the beginning of the next can be claimed the calendar year they were paid. This is the opposite because of the lag in billing.
But more to the point, if she pays the entire bill from the apartment complex (January rent and November electricity) in January, and continues every month until May, will se have to prorate the entire May payment since graduation is May 5, or can she just prorate the rent part for those 5 days, but claim the entire electricity charge, and also claim the electricity bill(s) for April (which will be due in June) and May (the apartment complex will prorate for her ending the date she turns in the key, at least they didn't charge her electricity for August until she picked up her key even though we paid rent July 1 and August 1) which she'll probably get a separate bill for, either later in June or in July?
It's the electricity bill being charged 2 months in arrears which has got me confused as to how to claim. We paid $11 for a few days' worth of electricity in August, before classes started the day after Labor Day, we have not claimed that from the 529 and wouldn't, just as we didn't submit for July or August rent. But I want to make sure that she is allowed to claim all the electricity she used during the spring semester, and it would be really nice if she could pay and claim fall electricity (at least to include November - from the December meter read) before the end of 2025 but we just don't know when she'll even get the bill for that, it may be too close to the end of the year to submit it to the 529. Since it's likely to be around $150/mo for November I'd like to get that covered by the fall COA because spring electricity bills to include December - April (and 5 days in May) are going to be more, because of the extra month, even though the COA for the semester is the same. If we don't find a way to pay and submit the November electricity bill before the end of 2025, fall's R&B expenses will look like 4 months' rent and groceries, but only 2 months' electricity, and spring's expenses will be 4.25 months' rent and groceries but 6.25 months' electricity. I'd like to shift that to 3 months' electricity in the fall and 5.25 months (as long as the last 2 months' can be paid after graduation and still be allowed to be reimbursed) in the spring.
