Readers have a lot of questions about “529” college-savings plans.
After we published an article recently about these education-savings accounts, readers swamped us with questions—about how to withdraw funds for college, the impact on financial aid and more. (The plans can also be used for some K-12 tuition, but we focus mainly on the college use.)
Here are answers to some of the most-common questions we received.
It is almost time for my beneficiary to start college. What do I need to know about making withdrawals?
First, make sure you’ll be using the money for qualified expenses, such as tuition, room and board, books and supplies, and computers. Expenses that don’t qualify include things like transportation, campus parking, cellphones, club fees or dues, or furnishing a dorm room, according to the College Savings Plans Network, a repository for 529 plan data.