Help with Qualified 529 Expenses for my Beneficiary

[PomonaMom]

I am posting since my question might be specific.

I own the 529 plan and my daughter is the beneficiary and 21 yrs old. She is in grad school starting Jan 2026 and has a full-time job while enrolled full-time in the grad program. She is no longer a dependent starting Jan 2026.

I paid the deposit for her enrollment in Jan '26. Right now, the school doesn't seem to have a way to have 529 send money directly to the school. She also will have living expenses while attending grad school that she will be paying for. I have no more expenses related to her.

What is the best way to withdraw from 529 the expenses related to grad school tuition, room and board? Should the withdrawals be in her name or in my name? I am retired and her income might well be above my income starting 2026!

Any help would be greatly appreciated since a lot of what I have read seems to indicate it doesn't matter whose name the qualified withdrawal is made in. Since I took the NYS tax deductions while contributing it seems I would need to show that I took the money out for qualified expenses. Is that not so? IRS website and all the publications I have read don't seem to address this issue.

Lena

[DavidD66 · Accepted solution]

It doesn't matter to whom the distributions are paid to, as long as they are used to pay Qualified Education Expenses for the beneficiary (in this case, your daughter) during the same year that the distributions were made.  You can take the distributions before the expenses are paid, or after the expenses are paid.  Also note, the list of qualified expenses for a 529 plan is much  more extensive than for an Education Tax Credit.  For more information see the following TurboTax Help Article:  529 Plans and Taxes: Deductions, Tax-Free Withdrawals & More 

[PomonaMom]

Thank you DavidD66. That makes sense... I can then have future withdrawals go directly to her to cover room and board she is paying for including tuition she will pay. PomonaMom

[DavidD66]

That is correct.  You can have the money sent directly to your daughter and the she can use the funds to pay her rent or reimburse herself for the rent (and other qualified expenses) she's already paid.