Co-Op taxes

[sunpods]

Hi all,

I am a college student on an F1 visa, resident alien. I started my Co-Op (CPT, full-time employment) in Fall 2019 and to maintain my visa, I had to take a Co-Op class to be considered as a full-time student. From this Co-Op, I could support myself with the earned income for living expenses and tuition. 

While filing my tax on TurboTax, I was confused about these questions:

1. Can someone else claim you as a dependent on their tax return?- my parents do not file US tax return, and I was able to self sustain for Aug-Dec 2019. How should I answer this question when I did not receive any financial support from my parents for the last four-five months in 2019?

2. Did you support yourself in 2019? - similar to question 1, as I supported myself during the last five months, how should I answer this question?

3. Education Tax- Am I eligible for an education tax return? I paid the Fall 2019 tuition with my earned income. However, I did not receive a 1098-T form from my school.

Thanks all for your help and stay healthy!

[pk]

@sunpods  without knowing  when you entered the country under F-1 , it is impossible to ascertain whether you are  still an exempt person ( and  therefore Non-Resident Alien ) or a Non-Exempt  but still NRA OR you have met the Substantial Presence Test and therefore a Resident For Tax purposes.

This determination is important because this determines  which form you use to file your return.  As a  NRA, you file using form 1040-NR ( not supported by TurboTax -- have to use SprinTax, or similar  or your school offered support ).  As a resident you file form 1040 which is indeed supported by TurboTax.

A second item is to determine whether your employment qualifies  for No FICA withholding ( Social Security and Medicare  tax ).  As I understand with EAD, both CPT and OPT  are generally considered  as  essential training in your fiend of study and therefore  there is no FICA withholding.

So you need to tell us  more about the situation , please 

[sunpods]

@pk : thanks for your reply.

I am a resident alien as I indicated in the post. I first entered the US with J-1 in 2013 and have used an F1 visa since 2014.

CPT is not required in my major at my school. On my W-2, I see a number in box 4 for social security tax withheld and also a number in box 6 medicare tax withheld. I think I am not exempt from the FICA tax withholding.

How could I answer questions 1~3 for this case?

[KarenJ2]

@pk

1. As your parents do not file US tax returns, you cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else's US tax return.  Answer No
2. You should answer Yes that you support yourself.  This question is an extension of the dependent question
3. If you are a US resident, you can claim either the Tuition and Fees Deduction or one of the Education Credits.  For the American Opportunity credit, you will need to ask your school to provide you with a 1098-T form.

Take Advantage of Two Education Credits

What is the Tuition and Fees Deduction