Hardship Distributions

[J Simmons]

For purposes of the hardship safe harbor, would tuition and related fees for masseuse school count?

[masteff]

Vocational schools can count as post-secondary education. To me it would depend on the specifics of the school. A safe criteria is whether students at that school can qualify for financial aid under state and federal programs. I've used that criteria for allowing withdrawals for cosmetology and hair styling (and TV broadcasting, graphic arts, etc).

Oh, and your state's level of regulation of massage therapists might be an additional factor... for example, Oklahoma requires a certain amount of training and licensing, making training here more formal than in state's w/out regulation.

http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/stu...sp?tab=choosing

PS - good luck on determining how much hot coconut oil to allow as a "related expense".

[J Simmons]

Thanks, Masteff!

[Guest Sieve]

At a minimum, I would think that "post secondary education" would require that the person registering must, in fact, have received a high schol diploma, or else it's not post-secondary for that individual. Perhaps it also should have a high school diploma as a prerequisite, so that it's truly a post-secondary education for all.

[masteff]

At a minimum, I would think that "post secondary education" would require that the person registering must, in fact, have received a high schol diploma, or else it's not post-secondary for that individual. Perhaps it also should have a high school diploma as a prerequisite, so that it's truly a post-secondary education for all.

Federal law generally agrees w/ you but also provides "in lieu of [having a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate], admits as regular students persons who are beyond the age of compulsory school attendance in the State in which the institution is located". So your astute suggestion is covered by using federal financial aid availability as a criteria.

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/us...01----000-.html

(Guess I might note that I wouldn't have known that if I hadn't done a special project on financial aid and accreditation as a graduate assistant.)