Who should file 1098t and 1099Q?

[caseytaylor133]

I am claiming my daughter as a dependent, but the 1098T and 1099Q came in her name.. She usually just does the 1040EZ form, but we are not sure what form she should use now if she has to put these forms in her taxes... who should file this on their taxes? me or her?

[Fern · Accepted solution]

If you are claiming your daughter as a dependent, these forms (1099 Q and 1098 T) are included with your tax return.  You should not include them on your daughter's tax return. The forms should be reported only once.

[kablwm]

TT won't let you enter the 1098T if your income is too high - won't that result in a taxable 529 distribution even if you have eligible expenses in excess of the distribution?

[clljones]

Another TurboTaxPro says just the opposite:  that a 1098-Q naming the dependent student as the recipient must go on her return, not the parent's return.  I am totally confused, and the choice I make probably has significant tax consequences.  Could a TT person of authority please intervene and give us the correct information?  Thanks!

[kittygong]

I have the same question and have talked with 2 TT agents without resolution.  Please help.

[Walsher05]

I am claiming the american opportunity credit on my return therefore I entered the 1098T on my taxes.  However, because my college savings plan (known as a Qualified Tuition Plan or QTP) sent payment to my son's school directly, he is named on the 1099Q.  Therefore, my son entered the 1099Q on his form.  IF you as the parent had to pay directly for education expenses instead of having your savings plan send a check directly to the school then the 1099Q would go on the parent's return.

So in summary - if the parent is claiming an education credit like the american opportunity tax credit, the the 1098T is added by the parent.  If the 1099Q was sent directly to the school and your child needs to file taxes, then you son or daughter would enter the 1099Q on their return and they would check the box that asks if someone else will claim them as a dependent.

The only thing that is not clear to me is it seems your dependent (son or daughter) would also enter the 1098 T if they first entered the 1099Q on their return.  TT wants to know whether the 1099Q was applied towards qualified education expenses.   Your son or daughter would be asked by TT about qualified education expenses and specifically asked if they received a 1098T.  Even if the parent entered it as well, I don't see how the student can avoid entering the 1098T on their form as well since they need some way to enter their qualified education expenses for the purpose of determining if they owe taxes on the earnings from their 1099Q.

[celgutting]

I am feeling this same frustration.  A clear cut answer would be most helpful as the answers I've seen seem to alternate between the parent of dependent child claiming both 1099-Q and 1098-T to student/recipient of 1099Q being required to file and therefore needing to file the 1098-T to counter balance and prove it was used for qualified expenses to both parent and student claiming the 1098-T at the same time.  I'm getting to the point where I'm not going to be able to use Turbotax and will have to make an appointment with a certified tax preparer to get the answer we're all searching for.  I don't want an answer from the "community," I want an answer from an accountant, so that my family doesn't have to contest an audit from the mistakes this situation is threatening.

[clljones]

The Community is a well-intentioned idea, but more often than not it takes way too much time and effort to get through the chaff and find a useful response.  My solution now is to follow the questionnaire exactly and then -- if the numbers don't work the way I know they should to produce the correct result -- find a workaround by changing some numbers on forms or worksheets.  My usual problem on this topic is that even though my total qualified education expenses always match the total distributions on the 1099-Q forms, TurboTax keeps counting some of it as taxable for no reason that any so-called TaxPro (or even many TT agents) can explain.  This year, I had trouble finding relevant forms-view numbers TurboTax would allow me to edit, but I got the solution from a knowledgeable agent who knew where to look (at the Student Information Worksheet, where I could change the qualified distribution numbers that flow through to the forms).  I guess not all agents are the same, but I've had two very good experiences with agents who recognized the program's flaws and were confident enough that I was producing a correct result to endorse my solution in a follow-up e-mail.  Before you resort to the expense of consulting a tax preparer, I'd recommend calling the support line (they have a call-back mechanism to avoid long holds).

[p-h-allison]

In looking at the the back of the 1099-Q under "Instructions for the Recipient" I was referred to IRS Publication 970.  Under Tax Free Distributions Chapter 7, on Page 46 of this document it states "Don't report tax-free distributions on your tax return".  It states that you are required to determine if they are taxable and not report them if they are not.
For the 1098-T instructions indicated to file on the parent's tax return if they are claiming the student as a dependent.

[owenbooth]

Why is info on a 1099Q taxable to the recipient when the proceeds are for the benefit of the student. We checked the box saying recipient is not the  beneficiary?