Room and board

bmshah1 — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 19:22:38 GMT

I paid for my son's room and board through his 529 plan while attending college FT. The money for R&B went straight to the school through the 529 plan as he was living on campus. The 529 plan issued a 1099-Q with my son's name. My question is:

1. Is the R&B considered a qualifying expense even though it was paid through a 529 plan?

2. Can I deduct the R&B that we paid for through the 529 plan on my return? If yes where in TT can I make that deduction? Right now TT is telling me that I don't need to enter any of the 1099 information.
3. Should the R&B deduction go on my son's filing instead as the 1099-Q is issued in his name?

Re: Room and board

DavidD66 — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 23:22:03 GMT

There is no tax deduction or credit for room and board. If there was, you would not be able to take the deduction or claim the credit using the distribution from the 529 plan (unless you treated the distribution as taxable). Similarly, you cannot take education credits for tuition paid with 529 plan funds. If the distribution from the 529 plan was used solely to pay room and board for you son while attending college, neither you nor your son needs to report the 1099-Q.

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Room and board

Re: Room and board