529 vs tax credit vs ???

First off, you can't double dip on taxes. If you use 529 distributions to pay qualified expenses, no one can use those same expenses for any other tax benefit.

There is no paper trail per se. Just withdraw the funds and make sure that you pay qualified expenses in the same year that the funds are withdrawn. In other words if you pull the funds out in Dec. 2012, you will need to have paid qualified expenses in 2012 to avoid paying taxes on a gain in the account.

It looks like the 1040 tax credits are only for tuition, and don't allow room & board. It looks like the 529 QTP program allows for just about any expense... So - we might have our son draw on his 529 to pay for the room & board portion, and let us pay for the tuition which will be counted for the various 1040 types of tax credit.

Not just tuition. They also include the school fees required for attendance or taking a course. For the AOC, they also include books, supplies and equipment required for a course regardless of where purchased. For the Tuition & Fees deduction, they include books, supplies and equipment required for a course ONLY if they must be purchased from the school for a course or attendance.

You don't actually pay for room and board. You pay for qualified expenses and then there is an allocation method depending upon which type or types of higher ed tax benefits are being used. See pages 56 and

I had previously downloaded the IRS 970 pub, and was reading thru it - but will look at pgs 56-57

I was mostly looking at the big ticket items - tuition & room/board - since UW/Madison is around $25k for out of state (vs in state only being like $10k)