529 monies & paying for college applications

maximus9999 2003-10-31 16:02:00 UTC #1

Can 529 monies be used for paying for the cost of college applications?

dopps 2003-11-03 15:00:00 UTC #2

IRS Publication 970 spells out what constitutes a qualified withrawal from a 529. My guess is this is not, as the applicant is not yet a student at the school to which he/she is applying.

maximus9999 2003-11-03 16:34:00 UTC #3

my thoughts as well; thanks for the confirmation

eduabc 2003-11-03 16:50:00 UTC #4

Can money from CESA be used for college applications. CESA can be used even kindergarten so ....

Regards,

user_2529 2003-11-04 15:48:00 UTC #5

My interpretation is that an application fee is "required for enrollment or attendance of a designated beneficiary at an eligible educational institution." (PUB 970 for both CESA & 529s)

I do NOT think you can count application fees to multiple schools, only the one that the beneficiary actually attends. The trick question then is: Does the app fee expense have to be incurred in the same tax year as attendance at the post-secondary institution?

karrots 2003-11-05 00:41:00 UTC #6

I've read and re-read that section of the 970 and I think the language on this point (college applications) is rather unclear. This may be one for the day of reckoning - hang on to those receipts!

hswankler 2004-09-28 14:15:00 UTC #7

Just a point of clarification. An important word was left off from Mike's definition quote...

[My interpretation is that an application fee is "required for enrollment or attendance of a designated beneficiary at an eligible educational institution." (PUB 970 for both CESA & 529s)]

it is "any EQUIPMENT required for enrollment or attendance...."

It would be hard to argue that an application fee is equipment. I think the fees portion of the definition is generally interpreted as being the fee assosiated with tuition but as Mike already mentioned you might be able to justify the application fee to the school the student actually enrolls in. Seems like a stretch though imo.

[This message has been edited by hswankler (edited September 28, 2004).]

user_2529 2004-09-29 11:01:00 UTC #8

This is one of those untested definitions as far as I know. Colleges do have a variety of fees that are separate from tuition but it needs to be REQUIRED by the institution, not an optional choice. I think it is reasonable to include the fee for an application if the expense is incurred during a year you are enrolled as a student. Maybe that's too picky in a different sense?
If you MUST pay an application fee it seems to fit in the definition of Qualified Education Expenses: "These expenses are the tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution."
2003 Pub 970, p.43

junzhang 2004-09-30 09:54:00 UTC #9

Just try it. They may cover it.