1098T not recognizing dependent as student, showing parent as student

[Irene2805]

You should still be able to enter information from Form 1098-T even though you're income exceeds the limit for the tax break.  You would just see a screen at the end of the interview that You can't claim an education tax break.

I am unable to duplicate your situation.  Are you using the TurboTax Online or CD/Download version?

@kulakowskin

[connexcindy2016]

Yes, please have someone correctly program the TT Education Expenses section. There are quite a few bugs. It was better in 2015, or 2019 when it was simpler, and we put in the amount of scholarship,  our payments, what was taxable (income since not tuition or allowed higher education expenses) and what was not. The interview questions seem to lead to incorrect input, as well.  Some have reported TT, upon calling in for help, has told them to override, or to delete an amount on the appropriate form. That sounds very worrisome. I am about to put my current data for my student in an earlier version of TT which seemed to have worked better in previous years. Question: Can I input data for my 3rd child using the 2019 TT to see how the Deductions and Credits are calculated there? then, I can use the worksheets and override for 2020 TT Education worksheets?

Also, I note that in 2019 a TT employee tax expert said that Box #1 should include scholarship information as well as payments made by the student/parent. Is that the case? If the amount we also paid the institution is not added to the scholarship in Box 1,  is this the correct place to report it by adding it to Box 1? 

[AmyC]

Box 1 includes all of the education expenses paid for the year. So, it could have been parents, scholarships, anything, anyone.

Box 1 is what the school claims was paid to them for education expenses. They don't care how they got paid in box 1. In box 5, they put the scholarships that they know about.

You want to report the 1098T as it looks. The program will ask if you paid the college more, other expenses and so on. See Where do I enter Form 1098-T? There is lots of great information in Education.

@connexcindy2016

[connexcindy2016]

This is helpful.  Thank you @AmyC .  (Also, @tgraeber1 , the link with helps for education expenses looks great! But it has an error (404). Can you reenter it?)  Meanwhile,  I cannot duplicate how the TT interview is populating the TT worksheets and tax forms in a comparable way to 2019. How will it determine that the amount I paid (added in Box 1) should be used for deductible tuition higher expenses?  Where and when will I be asked for my portion of the payment? I have been through the interview about 6 times now with various problems. Which line/box on the worksheet will this be placed?

Could you please describe where the questions of the interview put the information on the worksheet? For example,

1. Where is Box 1 placed in the worksheet/tax forms? Where does Box 5 get put on the worksheets/tax forms?

2. Where will the parents' contribution be a)asked for and b)placed in the worksheet/TT tax forms as a tuition allowed deduction?

3. Where will the other expenses such as Room and Board but not deductible be a)asked for and b)placed in the worksheet/TT tax forms as non a tuition expense/higher ed expense?

4. Where will there be a decision on how much of the income of that which is not deductible should go to the student or parent's taxes a)asked for or explained and b)placed in the worksheet/TT tax forms.  

5. Where is the calculation made about which of the credits or deductions should be given? Which lines does it compare to make the maximized choice in the credits or deduction?

6. Where in the worksheet/tax form will it determine if we do not get a credit or deduction?

TT is not calculating properly, it appears. Or, I do not understand the interview. This can be a problem for some parents who also have incorrect information from the universities who have been told to enter the 1098-t differently as of 2018. I am attempting to realign the interview with the worksheets so I do not need to "write over" any incorrect information without a good script on why I was told to.

[AmyC]

Here are more links and answers! I have tons of links but try not to overwhelm. The Form 8863 is where it all goes. Maybe seeing how it goes together will help. The education link worked when I clicked on it from the messages. Maybe it was a temporary error?

Questions 1, 2, & 3 All go to worksheets running behind the scenes in the program. You are overthinking this. Think basic. College education expenses of $10,000. Scholarships of $5,000. Who is left to pay the difference, you! You would get credit for the difference.

MOST important step and link for now     Question 4. This answer will be derived as you ***** look at another of my answers for help.*****  since, the IRS lets you move the numbers around some to get you the most benefit. You will be able to see if there is anything left taxable to your student. For example: Child gets a $70,000 scholarship and has $25,000 in education expenses. The child will claim the difference as income- on their personal tax return. Yes, it happens. Usually, the numbers require a mental workout instead. 

Question 5 & 6. The Tuition Summary worksheet marks the qualified expenses and checks off which credits you are entitled to receive. Then, the program has an optimize button which will compare the deduction and the credit. The program will tell you which is best and why.

Comment: You mentioned a change. Yes, the 1098T used to be informational. Now, it is an official tax document.

Qualified Expenses

Qualified College

Available Education Credits

IRS Q & A about education credits

Tax Benefits for Education: Information Center

About Form 8863, Education Credits

Follow these steps:

1. Did you pay for books or materials to attend school? Yes
2. Enter related amounts, tuition may say $0
3. Continue
4. Scholarships and Financial Aid, continue
5. Did you get a scholarship? yes and fill in boxes or no
6. Continue
7. screen asking Four Years of College Credit Before 2019? answer yes or no
8. Continue
9. Is this First Year of College? answer yes or no 
10. Continue
11. Ever Receive American Opportunity or Hope Credit? answer yes or no
12. Continue
13. Felony drug conviction? yes or no
14. Continue
15. Education Expenses Summary, EDIT

@connexcindy2016  Good luck!

[connexcindy2016]

Thanks @AmyC . I was referring to @tgraeber1  's url for irs documents. 

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/education-credits-questions-and-answers%C2%A0 

Were you able to get this to work? 

Here is the crux of my main confusion now before I can move along. Can the Room and Board be put (still, as in previous years from what I read) onto the student's taxes? Are they requiring all of the monies to be claimed on the parents taxes? If there is not a W2 or 1099 would this still be the case?

[AmyC]

Ah, no that link is not working. But, the IRS Tax Benefits for Education: Information Center I gave, includes the updated version.

If the student has scholarship money left after tuition and other required expenses, then the excess goes on the student return as SCH income. The student has the first $12,400 tax free so this is not a hardship for the student in nominal amounts.

Parents must claim any 529 money issued in their name and not used on qualified education. Which I why I sent the link to my other post, good for moving money around legally and optimally.

The only forms would be scholarships, 1098T, or 1099Q.

The scholarships can take many forms, including W2. So, you deal with the hand you are given. Those would be in the student's name, not yours.

@connexcindy2016

[connexcindy2016]

Thanks @AmyC ....

I understand the theory behind the excellent link you included in the answer - suggesting "Option 2". However - I do not know how to do this! TT has become further from the actual calculations in the previous 5 years. But, I do not know where I am to try these numbers. Is this the question where it asks if we have a W2 or 1099 regarding income claimed already (on our daughter's taxes I assume?) Please tell me how...

[AmyC]

@connexcindy2016  You are not going to like this answer. The IRS is putting it all on you.

Think of it this way, suppose the IRS decides to audit your return for education expenses.

You need to be able to pull out a spreadsheet or a piece of paper, something showing how you put it all together and how you delegated income and expenses.

I won't give examples as you have seen some of mine already.

All on you to determine what is best for your family. The IRS is being generous here but it can feel like swimming through mud. Start it out, play with examples, and at some point, like any good math problem, a light may go off and the best way for your family will come out of it. Good luck!

[justjennieh]

Has anyone figured out the solution to this completely irritating problem. I have also tried EVERYTHING in this thread and nothing works. My "PARENT" name still populates the 1098T section. This will be a deal breaker. We have 7 more years of college to go thru!

[ReneeM7122]

If your name is coming up as the student, you should delete form 1098-T and start again.

How do I view and delete forms in TurboTax Online?

• Open or continue your return in TurboTax.
• In the left menu, select Tax Tools and then Tools.
• In the pop-up window Tool Center, choose Delete a form.
• Select Delete next to 1098-T  in the list and follow the instructions.

Here's how to get to the 1098-T screen directly:

1. Open (continue) your return, if you don't already have it open.
2. Search for 1098t and select the Jump to link at the top of your search results.
3. On the Do you want to enter your higher education expenses? screen, answer Yes.
4. Answer Yes to Did you get a 1098-T for the year? and Continue.
5. On the next screen, you can choose how you'd like to add your 1098-T. You can upload a digital copy from your computer or type it in yourself. Select which option you'd like and Continue.

From the Education Expenses Summary screen you can:

• Select Add A Student if you need to enter a 1098-T for someone else (and then resume steps 4 and 5 above); or
• Select Edit to revisit the 1098-T for a previously-entered school or Add New School to enter a new 1098-T.

Some important tips about entering this form:

• Parents: If the student listed on the 1098-T is your dependent, enter the 1098-T on your return – even if your dependent paid the tuition.
• Students: If you're not being claimed as a dependent, you can enter the 1098-T on your return regardless of who paid the tuition unless it was your employer. In that case, just keep the 1098-T with your tax records.
• Enter your 1098-T exactly as is even if the amounts are wrong (this is common). You'll get a chance to correct this info and enter additional expenses later in the Education interview.
• Leave blank boxes blank. Don't enter 0 for any blank boxes on the form, as this generates errors.

@justjennieh

[connexcindy2016]

Thank you @kulakowskin,. I am using a CD.

Here is an issue I am now also finding @tgraeber1 . @AmyC ...TT is changing the interviews re: education from year-to-year. It is hard to follow the questions and reasoning in a way that accurate numbers can be given from year to year. Furthermore, when FAFSA  pulled from the 2019 TT  I would like to know which answers given in TT coordinate with the 1040 lines pulled with IRS link? Could there be a better roadmap (question::form/line) for TT to show more accurately the questions actually being asked and to which IRS rules do they pertain? Another way to help TT users understand the given questions would be to know which  FAFSA question corresponds to which TT answer on which form/line?  Can someone give such a roadmap for 2019 and 2020 with TT questions numbered, and showing where the values are placed on the 1040 forms/lines as they pertain to IRS rules? 

[connexcindy2016]

After talking to the FAFSA agent I learned that FAFSA has also changed its format this year. Reference points to which lines on the 1040 are asked for, have apparently been removed.   I also learned that the wording makes it seem that the number "0" was given "as reported" on the 2019. But, FAFSA did not take this number from any worksheet or form in the filed taxes. So, I have to use my own calculated worksheets on the grant/scholarship income and report from 2019.  TT could be more helpful to users if it would show more of its calculations and how they are tied to the interview questions. That would aid us as the wording of the interviews changes year-to-year.