Yes, check this. Most 529 administrators can do this for a majority of schools.
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But i still recommend paying yourself and you paying the school. This way, you don’t have to worry about mix ups or missed checks, etc.
It’s much cleaner. With checks coming from scholarships and then the school owing us, putting them in control of getting and clearing checks isn’t good.
So if you can ACH them or pay via CC, it’s much safer - and simply have the 529 pay you.
Highly recommended.
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Spoke to the bursar’s office (now called something else.) The deposit has to come from a credit/debit card but tuition can come straight from the 529.
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I’d still have the 529 pay you and have you pay the school. This way, you know you have the money and you know the school gets paid.
If you have the 529 pay the school, you’ll have doubt.
But if that’s what you prefer, it’s fine.
Good luck.
And congrats on making the UMD decision.
I like the idea of paying directly because there are less steps and would seem to make it unlikely that the IRS would challenge it is as not being for a qualified educational expense. That’s probably a low probability risk but still….
hmmm - yeah - there’s zero risk of that.
Note - I do believe and you can check but not all room and board is covered but what UMD shows on the cost of attendance is what they’ll cover. So if you get a more expensive dorm, you can’t reimburse it all.
But talk to your accountant but that’s how I read it.
More a risk they lose your money and won’t apply it - is the only reason I noted to pay as I did. They’ve lost 3rd party checks b4. You don’t want to accidentally get unenrolled or a warning letter due to their issue.
I see zero IRS risk - not to mention they have no employees left 
If a student lives on campus, they should be able to reimburse the full actual cost of room and board charged by the university. Published cost of attendance comes into play when a student is living off campus. See IRS publication 970 chapter 7:
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Thx. Good thing know for on campus.
Def something to ask in the UMD group.
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