<p>Just getting started...
I have a 529 at Fidelity for my daughter. It seems that in order to pay her (future) college bills, I have to fill out a distribution form, for each payment. Is that right? Seems like a lot of work. </p>
<p>Thanks.
Speedy123</p>
<p>I believe that is correct – folks on the financial aid forum may know more.</p>
<p>speedy-
That’s true. We used a Fidelity 529 also.
Was not such a big deal. The form can be printed from the Fidelity website.
Each semester, we filled one out desinating how much to send to school.
Then received confirmation of distribution.
It was easy.</p>
<p>Many companies offer a telephone transfer request service, which is very quick and easy. I just call and request a withdrawal of the amount needed, which is then wired to my checking account and is usually available within 2 business days. One can also request a check this way but I prefer to pay education expenses from my own account as it’s easier for me to keep track of them and make sure any payment stubs or other identifying information are included with the check.</p>
<p>I think you can set up something with the college as well.</p>
<p>We have two Fidelity 529s and don’t fill out any forms. I just call them up when I need another giant infusion of cash for D1’s school, and they send me a check. I deposit that into our bank account and then pay it out to the institution. It’s very easy. I’d rather route it through our bank accounts so I know exactly what has been paid, and when.</p>
<p>We have a New York State 529 and can do the withdrawals online - very simple. I pay the school directly and have the withdrawals deposited electronically into our bank account, but the 529 money can be sent directly to the school instead.</p>
<p><dating myself=“”>when I first saw this thread, I thought it was about the programming language BASIC</dating></p>
<p>jackief-EXACTLY what I thought. 
But, I’m happy to get this info since I will need to start doing this soon.</p>
<p>For those of you who are starting the college bill-paying and tax reporting process, you should read IRS Pub 970 and print the simple chart at the end. Then set up a simple system/spreadsheet to keep track of all of the college expenses you pay - both the qualified tuition/fees/books for the AO tax credit and/or scholarship income calculations and for the additional expenses like room and board which are qualified expenses for 529 purposes. If you take the minute or two to update as you go along it will make your life soooo much easier next year at tax time! Do not rely on the college’s 1098T as these are often not based on a calendar year and will generally only leave you baffled and frustrated, as the many threads on this topic attest, or paying more in taxes than you actually need to!</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback, all… sounds like there’s more here than meets the eye.
And thanks too for the BASIC memory jog! Geez, it’s been 30+ years since I took BASIC in college!!!</p>
<p>Speedy</p>
<p>Fidelity helped me do first form. I made copies, and then just changed the amount.</p>
<p>Now the have MyBill, where you can do automatically. </p>
<p>I never had a problem with UG, as the college reported exactly what was paid thru the year. I was astonished to see how “off” the MIT figure–really going to throw off taxes. I’m glad for these FA threads, so I know I’m not only one.</p>
<p>bookworm – how robust is the Fidelity’s MyBill functionality? Can you go online, identify the school and a bill in some way, hit a key, and the money moves??? That would be great.</p>
<p>Speedy</p>
<p>I paid d’s tuition bill on-line out of a Fidelity 529 - they just instituted this option. You can use it for any payment except the last one (the one that closes out the account). Check with your Fidelity rep before you pay the next bill.</p>
<p>Speedy,
I lost control when my son entered grad school. He says MIT doesn’t accept direct payment, but when I was in control, before MyBill, it went smoothly. </p>
<p>Son say he has to pay from his bank account, then has Fidelity reimburse him. I haven’t checked myself.</p>
<p>During UG, Fidelity paid school directly, and sent me e-mail to confirm transaction. I really like working with Fidelity.</p>
<p>Fidelity is awesome! I’ve been a customer for 30 years, and I could tell you story after story about their great customer service. One example – when a different brokerage firm charged me $50 to transfer funds to Fidelity, Fidelity VOLUNTARILY offered to reimburse me the money. I accepted graciously.</p>
<p>I also thought the question was about BASIC, which was the only course I had a terrible time with in college ;)</p>
<p>I’ve been a Fidelity customer for over 30 years as well and do almost everything online. I used to grumble about going in to their office to do the 529 withdrawal, but am now able to do it over the phone. I haven’t checked out going directly to the college because a lot of the expenses are off campus room & board which DS pays himself. I usually add up how much DS1 will need in each quarter and transfer that amount from his 529 to my individual account (over the phone) then to his checking account (online) and he takes it from there.</p>