What is considered a “qualified expense”?

Most expenses related to a beneficiary’s higher education qualify as an eligible expense. Some of the most common qualified expenses as defined by the IRS include:

• Tuition and fees at eligible educational institutions
• Books and materials
• Supplies and equipment (e.g. computers, software, printers, etc.)
• Certain room and board expenses

Also, you can now use tax-free distributions from your Embark account to pay for qualified expenses for certain apprenticeship programs, as well as principal or interest repayments on any qualified education loan up to $10,000 for the beneficiary or a sibling of the beneficiary — up to a $10,000 lifetime maximum, per person. Siblings may include a brother, sister, stepbrother or stepsister. Learn more here.

See the full list of Qualified Education Expenses as defined by the IRS, here.