In TurboTax (TT), enter at:
Federal Taxes Tab (Personal for H&B version)
Deductions & Credits
-Scroll down to:
--Education
--Education Expenses and Scholarships
Box 1 of the 1098-T already (usually) includes all of the money paid for tuition and fees, including what you paid out of pocket. So, TurboTax will treat the difference between box 1 and box 5 (scholarships) as the amount qualifying for the tuition credit. You will later be allow to enter any book costs separately. If the box 1 amount is not correct, click on the link "What if this is not what I paid the school" underneath box 1. You will then be able to enter the actual amounts paid.
Be aware that a full time unmarried student, under age 24, even if you don't qualify as a dependent, is only eligible for the refundable portion of the American Opportunity Credit if he supports himself by working. You cannot be supporting yourself on parental support, 529 plans or student loans & grants. It is usually best if the parent claims that credit.
There is a tax “loop hole” available. The student reports all his scholarship, up to the amount needed to claim the American Opportunity Credit (AOC), as income on his return. That way, the parents (or himself, if he is not a dependent) can claim the tuition credit on their return. They can do this because that much tuition was no longer paid by "tax free" scholarship. You cannot do this if the school’s billing statement specifically shows the scholarships being applied to tuition or if the conditions of the grant are that it be used to pay for qualified expenses.
Using an example: Student has $10,000 in box 5 of the 1098-T and $8000 in box 1. At first glance he/she has $2000 of taxable income and nobody can claim the American opportunity credit. But if she reports $6000 as income on her return, the parents can claim $4000 of qualified expenses on their return.
Books and computers are also qualifying expenses for the AOC. So, extending the example, the student had another $1000 in expenses for those course materials, paid out of pocket, she would only need to report $5000 of taxable scholarship income, instead of $6000.
