A CPA quoted in an article by US News in 2013
That was 5 years ago. Tax laws have changed since then, and they've changed drastically for the 2018 tax year. Take note also that US News is not a tax authority. When it comes to federal taxes, the one and only tax authority is the IRS. The only legal entity that can rule on IRS authority, is a federal judge. A lower level judge can not. US news and anyone else can interpret the law any way they want. But the only interpretation that holds any weight is that of the IRS, and a federal judge if said judge over rides the IRS interpretation.
Now while the quote is correct for 2018, you will not qualify for any other education credits (such as the American Opportunity Credit) because the student is not enrolled "full time". They can't be a full time college student, if they are already a full time high school student.
But even if you do qualify for any credits, it would be foolish to take those credits prior to the student graduating high school and enrolling as a full time student in college. Some credits, such as the American Opportunity Credit (AOC) can only be taken for four years. So if you take that credit prior to the student formally enrolling in college, that means you will not get the credit in the student's final year of college when you will be spending the most money, and will *need* that credit.
With the new tax laws for 2018, 529 funds can be used for any education K through 12, as well as college. Just don't waste a college tax credit while the student is still in high school.
Finally, in order for the 529 withdrawal to be tax exempt, that money must be spent on qualified education expenses in the same tax year it is withdrawn. There are no exceptions to that.
