Hello! I'm an international master's student filing as a resident due to my time in the country. I get my tuition fully covered through a graduate assistantship. I received some money from my university through their COVID relief fund that came from donations, not the CARES act. Because of this, box 5 on my 1098-T is about $1300 higher than box 1. When I input this form on the system, my tax return of around $500 turns into me having to pay $3000 back in taxes. I'm confused by how I'd have to pay so much more for money I received as COVID relief, even more than I actually got. Any advice on how to fix this problem? When I don't enter this form I get a much higher tax return. Thanks!
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Box 5 minus box 1 is $1300 of income added to your return. That should not cause a big jump like that. Take a look at your tax forms before and after the 1098T and compare them. There could be some credits you are losing with that bump in income. See How do I preview my TurboTax Online return before filing?
Thank you! That did help and gave me a return instead of having to pay more taxes. The return isn't as high as it was before I entered the 1098-T form, though. Those $1300 that are higher on box 5 are COVID relief funds that came from donations to my university. Is there a way to signal that in the system in case it gives me some additional tax credit?
Yes, you can allocate that money elsewhere. Please look at another of my answers for help You may be able to get the AOTC and that would be great.
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