What are qualified educational expenses

Based on IRS Publication 970 (January 17, 2020), defines qualified education expenses as: Expenses related to enrollment or attendance at an eligible postsecondary school. The education expenses as listed below could be required by the school.

1. The following expenses must be required for enrollment or attendance of a designated beneficiary at an eligible postsecondary school.
   1. Tuition and fees.
   2. Books, supplies, and equipment.
2. Expenses for special needs services needed by a special needs beneficiary must be incurred in connection with enrollment or attendance at an eligible postsecondary school.
3. Expenses for room and board must be incurred by students who are enrolled at least half-time (defined below). The expense for room and board qualifies only to the extent that it isn’t more than the greater of the following two amounts.
   1. 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.
   2. The actual amount charged if the student is residing in housing owned or operated by the school. You may need to contact the eligible educational institution for qualified room and board costs.
4. The purchase of computer or peripheral equipment, computer software, or Internet access and related services if it’s to be used primarily by the beneficiary during any of the years the beneficiary is enrolled at an eligible postsecondary school. (This doesn’t include expenses for computer software for sports, games, or hobbies unless the software is predominantly educational in nature.)
5. For distributions made after 2018, expenses for fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for the designated beneficiary’s participation in an apprenticeship program registered and certified with the Secretary of Labor under section 1 of the National Apprenticeship Act.
6. For distributions made after 2018, no more than $10,000 paid as principal or interest on qualified student loans of the designated beneficiary or the designated beneficiary’s sibling. A sibling includes a brother, sister, stepbrother, or stepsister. For purposes of the $10,000 limitation, amounts treated as a qualified higher education expense for the loans of a sibling are taken into account for the sibling and not for the designated beneficiary. You can’t deduct as interest on a student loan any amount paid from a distribution of earnings from a qualified tuition program after 2018 to the extent the earnings are treated as a tax free because they were used to pay student loan interest.