Education Credit Message

[marrs]

Hi-after entering in my student's 1098-T and expenses, TT comes back with the response that it "looks like student does not qualify". The reasons given are 1) Someone else can claim him as a dependent on their return, and 2) There were no net qualified expenses.  I am needing to know if these two responses are an either/or situation or both of the responses are the reasons.  I am having a hard time getting answers via IRS as to if someone has used my student's SSN info, and it occurred to me that these two reasons might just be "these are two possible reasons". One of my other children had their SSN compromised in 2019 during COVID. It was a nightmare to straighten out, so of course I am concerned about the first response.  Any thoughts or help is appreciated! 

[MaxA1]

It could be because of both situations.  The first reason would be because you indicated that someone else can claim him as a dependent.  If this isn't correct, you will need to go back and modify that response.  The second reason may be because they received scholarships that were greater than the education expenses.  This would disqualify you from claiming any education credits.

[marrs]

I cannot find anywhere in the TT app to see whether or not I accidentally indicated that my dependent can be claimed by someone else. I go to Personal Info, find his name and click Edit. It does not give me the same choices as it does when I choose Edit for myself or my spouse, which does ask if someone else can claim us. Thank you for any help you can provide.

[MarilynG1]

In the Personal Info section, if you Edit your dependent, you're asked who the parent(s) are.  If you're filing as Married Filing Jointly and choose one person as the parent, you get some follow-up questions on whether you're 'letting the other parent claim' and also if 'a relative helped support'.  These may be the questions you're referring to. 

Be sure to step through the Education section again.  At the Education Summary page, use the pencil icon to Edit your student's info and expenses.

@marrs