My D is attending a state school this fall with a COA @$25K, our EFC is ~$37K, and we have ~$80K saved in 529 plans for 2 children (our 2nd will be in college during our D’s Senior Year). We plan on taking the Direct Unsubsidized loan for at least the 1st 3 years until we see what FA we get when we have 2 in school.
For Fall 2015, our COA will be ~$12.5K, we plan to pay “out of pocket” $4,000 to qualify for the AOTC, apply the $2,750 from the loan, and cover the remainder with funds from the 529 plan. Is this a sound plan?
My basic question is how do I make sure the $4K for the AOTC and 529 funds only get applied to QEE? Will the school automatically apply the loan funds to tuition/room/board or can those be used for the “miscellaneous” expenses detailed in the school’s COA figures? I believe we will have the 529 disbursement paid directly to my D, and that she will in turn then use that to pay the school directly for housing, books, etc.
AOTC QEE paid with loan funds counts for the AOTC. You can add the cost of required books and supplies to the amount of AOTC QEE billed by the school. Yes, you get to decide what kind of QEE(AOTC or 529) each source of your funds paid for. Are there any scholarships or grants at all? QEE has to be reduced by the amount of tax-free scholarships/grants.
Thanks all, you’ve given us a few revelations that I’m sure are basic knowledge once you’ve gone through the ringer a few times!
dad - interesting that I can use the loan funds to qualify for the AOTC, could change the equation for us. Unfortunately, no grants or scholarships (yet), we’re in the too “poor” to simply cut a check for college demographic, but too “rich” to qualify for any aid. I read through the IRS Pub, will revisit it now that I’m starting to get a handle on all this.
(1) QEE equals whatever the school says it is plus any additional qualifying expenses. This includes books and supplies, but may also include some required fees that the school neglected to include. In other words, don’t rely solely on the 1098T when you receive it next year - go through all the numbers yourself and make sure they’re correct. And then add in books & supplies.
(2) If your D receives any scholarships, investigate thoroughly to find out if they are limited to tuition/fees only. (Again, read the fine print! Just because a scholarship is “equal to tuition,” doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be applied to tuition.)
(3) Wherever possible, apply scholarship funds to expenses other than QEE. And, no, it doesn’t make any difference at all how the school applies the funds. It’s your own bookkeeping that matters. So, figure it out, make a detailed record of your calculations, and file your tax return (and hers) accordingly.
(4) Remember that no scholarship (other than a tuition-only scholarship) is inherently “tax-free.” To switch any unrestricted scholarship from QEE to room/board, all your daughter needs to do is declare that scholarship on her tax return as taxable income.
You will have to do the math yourself to decide if the benefits of freeing up the QEE (for the AOTC and for the 529 funds) offset the burden of any additional taxes your daughter would have to pay by declaring a scholarship as taxable income. It’s a PITA . . . but it’s definitely worth the time to run the numbers several different ways to find out which strategy will yield the greatest benefit.
BTW, loans qualify for the AOTC because, once your daughter has borrowed the funds, they’re her money. After all, she’s the one who’s going to have to pay them back!
Regarding the 3 ways to take the distributions there has been a post or 2 here on CC where a school a school has applied a direct 529 payment as a scholarship and included it in box 5 of the 1098T and the posters had to get that corrected. If you have the cash flow I think it’s easiest to pay the expenses out of pocket and reimburse yourself in the same tax year after you know exactly how much you paid. Just watch December/January timing on the expenses and distributions.