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Culture War Roundup for the week of May 11, 2026

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Even just going "full time" to an online school qualifies you to be reimbursed for stuff like FOOD AND RENT!

Hmmm... Do you happen to know if the IRS has given any guidance on whether you can use a 529 for property taxes, insurance, mortgage interest/principal payments if enrolled?

Probably not, sadly. I think there are specific categories of things that are reimbursable, and there's also a dollar-amount limit per year based on what your school determines to be your "Room and Board" allowance based on its cost of attendance.

...but you can make your children pay market-rate rent for living at your home, and then reimburse them out of the 529!

Quote from Publication 970 chapter 7 (regarding "qualified tuition programs (QTPs)", also known as "529 plans"):

Qualified Higher-Education Expenses

The expense for room and board qualifies only to the extent that it isn't more than the greater of the following two amounts.

  • The allowance for room and board, as determined by the school, that was included in the cost of attendance (for federal financial-aid purposes) for a particular academic period and living arrangement of the student

  • The actual amount charged if the student is residing in housing owned or operated by the school

A state webpage says the same thing. So I think this actually doesn't work for online schools, which obviously will not include room and board in the cost of attendance.