Do I need to include my 1098-T if I don’t care to claim the education credit?

[J_taxpayer]

Hello. I am currently trying to file my taxes and I was wondering if it is necessary for me to report my 1098-T form if I do not care to claim to the education/learning credit? On my form, the expenses in box 1 are $4036.12 and there are no expenses or scholarships funding in Box 5 as I did not receive any. I’ve been reading that it only needs to be reported if Box 5 value exceeds that of Box 1 because then it can be counted as taxable income. But I just wanted to make sure this is the case before filing. So it would seem that I would not have to report my 1098-T right? 

[Hal_Al]

Q. So it would seem that I would not have to report my 1098-T right? 

A. Right. The 1098-T is only an informational document. The numbers on it are not required to be entered onto your tax return. 

However receipt of a 1098-T frequently means you are either eligible for a tuition credit or deduction or possibly your student has taxable scholarship income. You claim the tuition credit, or report scholarship income, based on your own financial records, not the 1098-T. 

Why don't you want to claim the credit.  $4000 of expenses usually gets a student or his parents, if he is a dependent, a $2500 tax credit 

[J_taxpayer]

Wow I did not know this. I’m filing my taxes by myself using the basic TurboTax and it required me to pay an additional $60 to upgrade to the deluxe version in order to claim that credit. I really wasn’t sure if paying would be worth it because I didn’t know if it would somehow reduce my refund. 

[J_taxpayer]

Also I qualify for the LLC and not the AOC. But I’m reading that the LLC is not refundable to my return so what would be the point of paying the extra $60 if it wouldn’t increase my refund? 

[Hal_Al]

The LLc is 20% of of the box 1 amount. So 20% x 4036 = $807.  If you have at yeast $807 in tax liability, you'll get it all.  

TurboTax also has another free product called the Free File Edition (not to be confused with the regular Free Edition).  It has free Federal preparation and free State preparation. There is no efiling fee. It is not available after October 15

The Free file Edition can handle a 1099-MISC.

The Free file Edition is more fully-featured than the regular Free Edition.  The Free File Edition can prepare Schedule A, C, D, E, and F that the Free Edition cannot. 

To qualify for free 2020 federal and state tax returns through the IRS Free File Program delivered by TurboTax, you just need to meet one of these requirements:

• Your 2020 household AGI is $39,000 or less;
• You qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); or
• In 2020, you served as active duty military (including Reservists and National Guard) with a maximum AGI of $72,000, and you have a military-issued W-2.

The FREE FILE Edition is located at:
https://turbotax.intuit.com/taxfreedom

How to switch and start over in Free file Edition
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2026912-how-do-i-switch-to-turbotax-freedom-edition