clipped from: www.savingforcollege.com   

Room and board. If the student is living off-campus, you’ll need to ask the school for its cost-of-attendance allowance for room and board as reported to the U.S. Department of Education. Be sure you can document the student’s expenses for room and board up to the school’s allowance. Although not technically necessary, it’s a good idea to document some expenses over and above the allowance in the event you and the IRS cannot agree on whether certain costs, such as beer or protein shakes, are properly considered part of room and board.