UC Berkeley - Off-campus housing - 529 plan

[rdhamija1]

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I believe UCB only guarantees campus housing for freshman year. If you are living off-campus for sophomore to senior years, how do you pay for it from 529 plan? </p>

<p>Off-campus housing may be cheaper than dorms, how much do you need to budget for it?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

[entomom]

<p>Is this what you want to know?:</p>

<p>[Publication</a> 970 (2011), Tax Benefits for Education](<a href=“http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch08.html]Publication”>http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch08.html)</p>

<p>

Expenses for room and board must be incurred by students who are enrolled at least half-time. The expense for room and board qualifies only to the extent that it is not more than the greater of the following two amounts.</p>

<p>The allowance for room and board, as determined by the eligible educational institution, that was included in the cost of attendance (for federal financial aid purposes) for a particular academic period and living arrangement of the student.</p>

<p>The actual amount charged if the student is residing in housing owned or operated by the eligible educational institution.

</p>

<p>[FinAid</a> | Saving for College | Section 529 Plans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/savings/529plans.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/savings/529plans.phtml)</p>

<p>

Room and board are included only for students who are enrolled at least half-time. Room and board expenses are limited to the actual school charges for students who live on campus in housing owned or operated by the school, and to the school’s budget figures (as listed in the school’s published cost of allowance figures) for students who live off campus or at home and for independent students.

</p>

<p>Or how to document off campus R&B?</p>

[rdhamija1]

<p>Thanks entomom,</p>

<p>Yes, the info you provided is very helpful. I’m also looking for how to document R&B expenses not paid to UC Berkeley.</p>

<p>On-campus housing at UC Berkeley is in the range of $15-16K per year. How much does off-campus housing vary (down) from on-campus? Should I budget for say $8-10K per year when I am looking at funds in 529 plan?</p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

[terenc]

<p>I would also like to add that housing is actually guaranteed for 2 years.</p>

[entomom]

<p>This is all I could find about documentation, I’m not that familiar with the website, so I can’t guarantee it is correct, but it looks reasonable:</p>

<p>[Record-keeping</a> for Your 529](<a href=“http://www.savingforcollege.com/articles/record-keeping-for-your-529]Record-keeping”>Record-keeping for Your 529)</p>

<p>While you don’t need records to take out the money, you will want to be prepared in case of an audit.</p>

<p>About the cost of off campus living at Cal, your best bet will be to ask on the UCB forum, some current students should be able to give you a ballpark figure.</p>

<p>Best of luck and have a wonderful time at Cal, Go Bears!</p>

[ucbalumnus]

<p>

@rdhamija1

On-campus housing at UC Berkeley is in the range of $15-16K per year. How much does off-campus housing vary (down) from on-campus? Should I budget for say $8-10K per year when I am looking at funds in 529 plan?

</p>

<p>[UC</a> Berkeley Financial Aid and Scholarships Office Cost of Attendance](<a href=“http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm]UC”>http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/home/cost.htm) indicates that the room and board costs assumed for financial aid purposes for the 2011-2012 academic year are $14,990 in the residence hall versus $9,896 off-campus (a $5,094 difference).</p>

<p>One of the cheapest options is the [Berkeley</a> Student Co-op](<a href=“http://www.bsc.coop/index.php/academic-year-rates]Berkeley”>http://www.bsc.coop/index.php/academic-year-rates), which is $6,708 for the 2012-2013 academic year for room and board houses, or about $3,188 less than the 2011-2012 off-campus financial aid assumption for off-campus room and board.</p>

[entomom]

<p>^Thanks ucb, that’s actually where I lived for a little while, but a loooong time ago.</p>

[somemom]

<p>Off campus housing is much cheaper than dorms, move off campus ASAP. Greek houses can also be a solid option.</p>

[mamabear1234]

<p>For 529 withdrawals, we used the figure from the school for cost of attendance when living off campus, similar to the cost ucbalumnus cited. It was probably more than she actually spent, but we felt safe using the published university numbers, rather than trying to calculate rent, food, etc costs. We just had the check in that amount made out to her for each semester.</p>