I receive a stipend from my school and have a 1098-T. Should I include my rent payments when asked if I used a scholarship or grant for room and board?

[aries0494]

Originally, I included my rent because I thought that's what it was asking, but I think my rent payments are being considered additional income. I'm in graduate school and this year I only received the 1098-T from my school, not a W2, because it's considered a fellowship in the first year.

[Hal_Al]

It's not clear what you're saying. Was the rent included in the box 5 amount on the 1098-T?  If yes, then it is additional income and TurboTax (TT) will treat it like ordinary scholarship (apply to the box 1 tuition first, then treat any excess as taxable).  If you want to designate it as taxable (for example to free up tuition for you, or your parents to claim the tuition credit), answer yes when TT asks if any of the grant was used for room & board.  

[KrisD15]

Do you also have Form 1099-Q reporting a distribution? 

Normally the option to enter Room and Board only appears if there is also a 1099-Q.

Room and board will offset income on a 1099-Q, but not scholarships or fellowships. 

@aries0494 

[aries0494]

I do not have a 1099-Q. I was just calculating the amount I paid in rent and added that. I wasn't sure if I should include that or not, as technically I'm paying for rent through my stipend.

[Hal_Al]

How was the stipend reported to you, on the 1098-T, a 1099 or some other way?

In  general, Enter stipends at Educational Expenses and Scholarships, under Deductions and credits (not the income section). If you do have a 1098-T, one of the follow-up questions will be do you have any scholarships not shown on the 1098-T. Enter the additional scholarship/stipend there.  When asked if any was used for room and board, answer yes. Then enter the amount you want to be taxable (usually all of it), in the pop up box. R&B are not "qualified educational  expenses".  So, this is how you tell TT that it is taxable. Note the wording at that screen “or other expenses”. You didn’t have to literally use the scholarship for R&B.  This will put it on line 8r of Schedule 1 (this line was added in 2022).

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[aries0494]

It is not included, the school gives us all the same stipend amount. The turbotax form asked me if I used my scholarship or grant to pay for room and board, and I assumed that because I pay rent from my stipend that the answer is yes. I calculated the amount of rent I paid since starting school and put that down, but now I think it's considering that income as well.

[aries0494]

What is Schedule 1?

All of my stipend was on a 1098-T only.

[Hal_Al]

Q. What is Schedule 1?

A. It's an attachment form that TurboTax (TT) produces to report misc income that doesn't have a specific line on form 1040. It was new in 2018.

Q. All of my stipend was on a 1098-T only.

A. Then my original reply is the answer to your original question. 

If the stipend was included in the box 5, then  TurboTax (TT) will treat it like ordinary scholarship (apply to the box 1 tuition first, then treat any excess as taxable).  If you want to designate it as taxable (for example to free up tuition for you, or your parents to claim the tuition credit), answer yes when TT asks if any of the grant was used for room & board and designate the taxable amount.