# Does anyone know if you can use a 529 for this?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-if-you-can-use-a-529-for-this/678655>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [January 13, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-if-you-can-use-a-529-for-this/678655 "2014-01-13T14:05:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\
**Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-if-you-can-use-a-529-for-this/678655/1 "2014-01-13T14:05:06Z")

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I want to get the comptia A+ and network+ certifications. They are not offered by my college and willnot count towards my degree. If I took these classes somewhere else would I be allowed to use the money in the 529 plan my family set up to pay for it?

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**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\
**Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-if-you-can-use-a-529-for-this/678655/2 "2014-01-13T15:18:00Z")

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If you take the training through an eligible institution, yes. If not, no. A tech college may provide the training and be an eligible institution.

(But as an IT professional - why? These certifications are pretty useless. (I say this as someone whose done hiring of PC and network techs). I’d rather find someone with experience than a certification that everyone who takes the class can get - they are easy tests to pass and don’t show you know anything useful. Find somewhere to volunteer doing PC repair - around here we have a Free Geek.)

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**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\
**Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-if-you-can-use-a-529-for-this/678655/3 "2014-01-13T19:09:14Z")

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> [@boffking](#):
>
> I want to get the comptia A+ and network+ certifications. They are not offered by my college and willnot count towards my degree. If I took these classes somewhere else would I be allowed to use the money in the 529 plan my family set up to pay for it?

Almost certainly, though I’d hesitate to give an unqualified answer. Different states can sometimes do some wonky things with their 529 plans. So check with a professional - or call your state 529 administrator - to get the state-level info.

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**Author:** ![JerrySTL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@JerrySTL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerrySTL)\
**Post date:** [January 13, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-if-you-can-use-a-529-for-this/678655/4 "2014-01-13T20:30:01Z")

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> [@Dangerosa](#):
>
> (But as an IT professional - why? These certifications are pretty useless. (I say this as someone whose done hiring of PC and network techs). I’d rather find someone with experience than a certification that everyone who takes the class can get - they are easy tests to pass and don’t show you know anything useful. Find somewhere to volunteer doing PC repair - around here we have a Free Geek.)

I work as a contractor for the US Air Force. The USAF requires CompTIA Security+ and having an A+ is considered a plus also.

And I agree that these certs are pretty useless.