Always keep good expense records. Consult IRS Publication 970 - Tax Benefits for Higher Education, for available tax benefits for higher education costs. Consult a tax advisor to ensure distributions are correctly characterized on your income tax returns.
Only the account owner can withdraw money from the account. There is no minimum withdrawal amount, and each distribution from your account will consist of a portion of your contributions and a portion of your account's earnings. Distributions will be paid by check and we will send a confirmation of the distribution. For each distribution, you must send the completed and signed College Savings Distribution Request Form to us.
When taking money out of your SMART529 College Savings Plan, please read the information regarding the two types of distributions: qualified distributions and non-qualified distributions.
IRS form 1099-Q
For each distribution, SMART529 will send a Form 1099-Q reporting the earnings portion of any distribution to the designated beneficiary if the distribution was made to the designated beneficiary or to an eligible educational institution for the benefit of the designated beneficiary. Otherwise, the account owner will receive the Form 1099-Q. Check with your tax professional about filing this information on your tax returns. We also provide the information on Form 1099-Q to the Internal Revenue Service.