<p>This is the first year we have drawn money from a 529 account and I just want to make sure we are filing correctly tax wise.</p>
<p>The account is owned by my husband with my son as beneficiary. We withdrew money to pay for qualified education expenses. The money was paid to my husband (there was not an option on the form to have it paid to my son). Today in the mail we got a 1099Q. As the money was for Qualified expenses we just don't report it? No where to explain it or anything? That is my understanding from reading the IRS 970 document. The tax program we have is a little confusing to say the least.</p>
<p>My first year too, but that is my understanding....that withdrawls for qualified expenses are non-taxable. Which makes sense as you have already paid taxes on the money you put in, just not on the growth.</p>
<p>I think you have to report it, I use taxactonline and it asks you about the distributions and earnings and the qualified expenses. As long as your qualified expenses (which include room, board and book) doesn't exceed the amount you withdrew then there is is no effect on your tax return. </p>
<p>The qualified expensed for a 529 account are different than for claiming the hope or lifetime learning credit or education tax deduction. Those exclude room, board and books (which is stupid imo)</p>
<p>Oh that 970 document is a real charmer. I haven't done my taxes on paper for 10 years. </p>
<p>If I am wrong about any of this, I hope someone jumps in and corrects me!</p>
<p>Well I did some googling and the tax program I use actually has this explanation on line (wish it explained it as well in the actual program as I was quite confused)</p>
<p>I withdrew funds from a 529 plan to pay my daughter's college tuition. I received a 1099-Q form reporting the distribution. Do I owe tax on this money?</p>
<p>The tax system has trained us – like Pavlov's dog – to see a 1099 form and instinctively think that it is reporting income. That's not so with Form 1099-Q. Its purpose is merely to remind you – and alert the IRS – that you made a withdrawal from a 529 college savings plan, state prepaid tuition program, or Coverdell education savings account. The distribution that is reported in box 1 of the 1099-Q is tax-free if you used the money to pay tuition and related fees, books, and room and board. Most payouts are used for these expenses. If you use the funds for other purposes, then only the earnings portion of the distribution is taxable. That amount is listed in box 2 of the 1099-Q and should be reported by you as "other income" on line 21 of the 1040 form you file for the year of the distribution. The taxable portion also is subject to a 10 percent penalty tax that is calculated on Form 5329.</p>
<p>So why is the distribution reported to you and the IRS if the vast majority of withdrawals are going to escape tax? We think the 1099-Q's main purpose is to alert an IRS agent to the distribution in the event you are audited. The agent can then ask how the funds were used and determine if you reported the distribution as necessary.
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</p>
<p>There is no where on the tax forms to show it as income then deduct the part that is not taxable. So I guess we just do not show it. Heart attack over for now I think.</p>
<p>My $0.02 worth.
For years, I never bothered to report the 1099-Q distributions paid to me (owner of account) for which I used every dime for qualified college expenses for my 3 benneficiary kids…and then this year I got a notice saying I owed thousands on my 2008 taxes for all the distribuions from the Minnesota 529 program. Eventually, the IRS agreed I owed no taxes, but it took two letters with lots of documentation and two phone calls where the wait time was over a half hour each just to get someone who knew nothing and were no help…and in fact, one agent turned out to cause me more trouble. I documented every dime spent, every electronic transfer, etc. Overall, took me about 6-7 hours of work as I had to contact the colleges for detailed billing …about twice the time it takes me do to my taxes with TurboTax…which asked me if I had 1099-Q’s and if I had exspenses and then told me…“you do not need to report”.</p>
<p>This year for 2010 taxes, I am going to document the qualitified expenses and just tack on the 1099-Q as an attachment…and hope that the IRS does not hassle me again for 2009.</p>
<p>Our daughter’s 529 account has the ability to pay directly to the college, so we don’t have to worry about paying first from our account and then being reimbursed. When we got the first 1099Q in our daughter’s name, it stated the amount that had been paid out. So far so good. Then the college sent us a 1098-T called a Tuition statement and showed the amount received for qualified tuition and related expenses. It did NOT include the amount paid for the residence and dining. However, I knew because of publication 970 that the 529 funds can pay for housing and dining, especially when it is through the university and easy to verify the amounts.
We don’t use turbotax and just blunder through the process on our own. I noticed some of these other posts talk about reporting on the parents tax form, but that is not our interpretation. Since the 1099Q was reported in my daughter’s name and her SSN, we figured it went on her tax form somewhere, not ours, since none of our 529 statements have our SSN on them. After pondering several instructions, we decided it belonged on 1040 line 21, other income, and we report 0 but also wrote “see enclosed note.” The enclosed note listed the college statements we had received showing residence hall charges along with tuition. We then showed how the math worked out between what the 529 paid, and all of these qualified expenses, leading to 0 other income.
We included this note and supportive tuition statements with our daughter’s tax return to prevent any audits (hopefully).
We first did this for tax year 2008 and have had no inquiry so far from the IRS.</p>
<p>You’d think by now this would be a standardized situation?..jeez; sounds way to complicated…it was my understanding if it was paid directly to the school and was equal or less than an offsetting tuition/room/board statement no documents change hands…safe at home…</p>
<p>from above post, I guess not; we’ll have to see; just sent $$ from 529 directly to school starting Fall 2010…</p>
<p>FWIW and YMMV, our accountant told us that the easiest way to do this without all the 1099 junk was to pay the school directly…</p>
<p>We don’t have any direct school costs as her tuition and fees are all covered by scholarships. So the times we have withdrawn from the 529 have been for some housing expenses (off campus), and last year we bought her a new computer and used some for her internet expenses. I guess we could send it to the school and have them send us a refund. But we didn’t.</p>
<p>We have never reported it anywhere on D’s tax returns (the 529 withdrawals go to her and then college is paid from her checking account. My understanding is that it is not reportable income.</p>
<p>This year she did pull out an extra amount, because she was studying abroad and traveling a lot. Since she has a merit scholarship, the excess amount will not be subject to the penalty, but she will owe tax on the earnings portion of the withdrawal. Our withdrawal statement from Vanguard did not list how much that is, however, so we will have to do more digging.</p>
<p>helpful thread. my d also received a 1099Q for a distribution from a prepaid plan and shows earnings of $1200. am I understanding correctly that the earnings portion IS taxable? while doing her tax return on Taxact it also indicated a penalty, (albeit only $10) but didn’t really understand why.</p>
<p>The earnings portion is *not *taxable if it was used to pay for qualified education expenses. For 529 account purposes qualified expenses include tuition and fees, books, room and board, and for 2010 (and I think 2011) certain computer and internet expenses. If a student is on campus the room and board is the actual room and board charge. For off campus students it is based on the school’s COA.</p>
<p>The relevant IRS publication is IRS970. Make sure you are looking at the rules for 529 accounts -(I think they call them qualified education plans) as the qualified expenses vary from one tax benefit to another. For instance room and board is allowed for 529 accounts, but not for the tax credits.</p>
<p>I was also reading something the other day about how you can elect to pay taxes on the 529 withdrawal if you want to use the same expense for a tax credit. I think it said you would pay the tax but not the penalty. (But I may have dreamt that!!)</p>
<p>Great thread and great info by all. I spent HOURS trying to make sense of all the different rules and regs this year and how they applied to me. My conclusion: this is crazy complicated. 529 rules are tough enough but when you try to balance that with any of the various tax breaks, fuggeddaboudit!</p>
<p>FWIW, my $0.02…</p>
<p>I’ve also never found the correct way to claim a 1099Q that was used for qualified expenses. It seems you shouldn’t have to and I assumed that the IRS would “see” a 1098T for the same year and offset them. However, as did FerrisH, I got a letter from the IRS last year for my 2008 return saying I owed additional taxes for a 529 distribution. In my case, i just sent them a letter and copies of relevant 1098T’s and they dropped the matter right away. Probably better not to have an inquiry, but it was no big deal in the end.</p>
<p>As Swimcatsmom noted, you don’t have to pay a 10% penalty if you had an excess 529 distribution that was ONLY the result of taking a tuition tax credit. You will have to pay a little bit more in income tax, however (but only on a <em>portion</em> of the <em>gain</em> used to pay those expenses). How you calculate this is covered in Pub 970. From what I could see, you would still save a lot from taking the credit in these cases so don’t pass it up.</p>
<p>I am trying to make sense of this. my d’s QTP distribution did have earnings, but were all used for qualified education expenses. can’t tell if she fits the exception to the 10% additional tax. After entering all the info into Taxact it indicates it as — amount not subject to 10% additional tax, but then instructs you to determine if this is right. which is where I became confused…</p>
<p>Education Program Payments - Exception to 10% Additional Tax</p>
<p>Generally, if you receive a taxable distribution from a Coverdell ESA or a qualified tuition program (QTP), you must also pay a 10% additional tax (figured on Form 5329) on the amount included in income. However, an exception to the 10% additional tax may apply to all, or part of this distribution.
Currently $273.00 of this distribution is included in income and may be subject to the additional tax. Enter or confirm the portion of this distribution, if any, that is not subject to the 10% additional tax. If this does not apply, click Continue.</p>
<pre><code>Amount not subject to the 10% additional tax:
</code></pre>
<p>The 10% additional tax does not apply to some distributions. Learn MoreForm 1099-Q - Exception to 10% Additional Tax
The 10% additional tax does not apply to distributions described in the following list:
Paid due to the death or disability of the designated beneficiary (distribution code 4 or 5)
Included in income because the designated beneficiary received a tax-free scholarship or fellowship, veterans’ educational assistance, employer-provided educational assistance or any other nontaxable (tax free) payments (other than gifts or inheritances) received as educational assistance. (This only applies to the extent the distribution is not more than the scholarship, allowance, or payment.)
Made on account of attendance at a military academy (restrictions apply)
Included in income only because the expenses were taken into account in determining the American opportunity or lifetime learning credits
Distributions from Coverdell ESAs made before June 1, 2011, of an excess 2010 contribution (and any earnings on it). The
distributed earnings must be included in gross income for the year in which the excess contribution was made (distribution code 2).</p>
<p>added in scholarships, and the QTP distribution on my d’s tax return, and her AGI comes out to $4877. with no tax due. does she actually need to file at all?</p>
<p>You must file a return if any of the following apply.</p>
<ol>
<li> Your unearned income was more than $950.</li>
<li> Your earned income was more than $5,700.</li>
<li> Your gross income was more than the larger of —
1. $950, or
2. Your earned income (up to $5,400) plus $300.</li>
</ol>
<p>or from table 3:</p>
<p>You had net earnings from self-employment of at least $400. (See Schedule SE (Form 1040) and its instructions.)</p>
<p>I would imagine that any taxable scholarships count as unearned income. I don’t think the QTP earnings would be taxable if used for qualified expenses, but if it is taxable, this would also be unearned income. Since it is over the $950 limit, your D will have to file.</p>
<p>People:
Please don’t post what you “would imagine” to be true, but only what you KNOW to be true, with a link if possible.
The portion of scholarships/grants is considered EARNED income:
“Earned income. This is salaries, wages, professional fees, and other amounts received as pay for work you actually perform. Earned income (only for purposes of filing requirements and the standard deduction) also includes any part of a scholarship that you must include in your gross income. See chapter 1 of Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, for more information on taxable and nontaxable scholarships.” (from the same publication linked in the previous post) [Publication</a> 501 (2010), Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information](<a href=“Publication 501 (2022), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information | Internal Revenue Service”>Publication 501 (2022), Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information | Internal Revenue Service)</p>
<p>And just as an FYI (from the same Publication) “unearned income includes taxable interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions. It also includes unemployment compensation, taxable social security benefits, pensions, annuities, and distributions of unearned income from a trust.”</p>
<p>SO - If lindz’s daughter does not meet any of the criteria listed in post #15 in terms of the limits for unearned income, earned income, and gross income, or self-employment income, then she will not have to file.
BUT - if she had any federal income tax withheld from her checks, she may want to file to get that money back (likewise a state return if state tax was withheld and she had no state tax liability).</p>
<p>ANd another FYI -
If withdrawals from a 529 are used for qualified educational expenses (which for 529 funds includes room, board, and - for 2009 and 2010 only - the purchase of a computer, internet access, and software used for educational purposes) then NO tax is due. Zero, zip, nada. Neither regular tax nor the 10% penalty.</p>
<p>If a non-qualified withdrawal/distribution is made, then ONLY the earnings portion is taxed.</p>
<p>thanks Momcat for the helpful clarifications of the rules! funny, I must have spent over 6 hours on my d’s return, to realize after crunching the numbers, she doesn’t need to file, kinda makes me want to file anyway, to prevent any IRS questions. this is what I love about CC!</p>
<p>I apologize for sounding too harsh, notrichenough. It seems like scholarships <em>should</em> be classified as unearned income, since they’re different from the other forms of earned income which are, as the IRS puts it “amounts received as pay for work you actually perform”. But they’re not classified that way, which is actually a very <em>good</em> thing for students because it means that a lot of them don’t have to file a return.</p>
<p>And we’re all so busy that it’s sometimes hard to take the time to double-check and find a link to back up what we’re posting. But I think that doing so adds an extra dose of “helpfulness” for those who come here asking questions, particularly the often-complex questions about financial aid and tax issues.</p>