My mom wants my 1098-t but I don’t I think she can claim it because I am 21, a full time student, and I made $17,698 in 2019. Am I right or am wrong

[hbl3973]

alowe1800,

Excellent question.  There are two or three places to look to discover the correct answer.  The first is in the Form 1040 instruction (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf)  on page16-17.  The key issue is whether your $17,698 income constituted more than half of your support.  (Being away at college does not count as being away from home for such tax purposes.)  Publication 501 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf) provides some examples, e.g. scholarship does not count as student income.  So key questions are how much did your mother spend on tuition, room and board and incidental expenses while you were at school?  How much did she spend on household expenses and treats such as restaurant meals while you were home on break and vacation?  Is she paying your car insurance, health insurance, etc.?

If you determine that you did, indeed, provide more than half your support, then only you can take advantage of the 1098-T.  You would then refer to Publication 970 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf) to determine how much credit (or deduction) you qualify for.   Be aware that per page 21 you would not qualify for the refundable portion of the American Opportunity Credit.  On the other hand If your mom can claim you as a dependent and, indeed, does, then she as per page 20 gets the 1098-T and does have access to refundable portion of the AOC.

[JotikaT2]

It depends.

You need to meet all of the qualifications to be considered a dependent as listed in the following link.  The most important test for you would be if you provided more than half of your support during the year.  If you did, your mom cannot claim you.  If you did not, your mom can claim you and claim the education credit.

Dependent qualifications

Please make sure you review the number of years your mom claimed the American Opportunity Credit as this credit can only be claimed for 4 years.  Once you have claimed this credit for a specific student for 4 years, you can no longer claim it. 

If you fall under this situation, you may still be entitled  to the Lifetime Learning Credit or Tuition and Fees deduction.  See the following links for more details on the education credits available.

Chart comparing credits

Tuition & fees deduction

[Edited 3/15/20|10:59am PST]

[NCperson]

 @JotikaT2   to be a qualifying child, can you point us to the documentation that  there is an income test??????(there is a support) 

to be a qualifying child 

• you must be under 19 or under 24 and a full time student
• you must have lived with your parents for over half the year (being away at school still counts as living with your parents)
• your parents must provide over half your support
• you are not married
• I am not aware of any 'income test'. 

it is to the mother's advantage to claim the child as she could a) claim head of household, b) claim up to the $500 tax credit and c) claim AOTC which is worth up to $2500.  If the student earned $17,000, then the tax rate is just 10% or around $500.

[Hal_Al]

Simple answer #1: you're wrong.

But taxes aren't simple, so it depends.  But simple answer #2 is you want her to be able to claim you. The tuition credit is worth up to $2500 to her and only up to $1550 to you (and more likely only $550*). In addition mom gets a $500 dependent credit for you and, if eligible, the Earned Income credit (EIC) of up to $3526.

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, a relationship test and residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit.

A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:

1. He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally & permanently disabled
2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are considered third party support and not as support provided by the student.
3. He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year

So, it doesn't matter how much he earned. What matters is how much he spent on support. Money he put into savings does not count as support he spent on him self.

The support value of the home, provided by the parent, is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants. The IRS has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf 

Furthermore, there is a rule that says IF somebody else CAN claim him as a dependent, he is not allowed to claim himself. If he has sufficient income (usually more than $12,200), he can & should still file taxes. In TurboTax, he indicates that somebody else can claim him as a dependent, at the personal information section.  TT will check that box on form 1040.

* One other wrinkle: A full time unmarried student, under age 24, is only eligible for the refundable portion (up to $1000) 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. Your earned income must be more than half your support. 

[alowe1800]

But my mom has not supported my all income i because I paid 50% of my living expenses and pay for my car note car insurance health insurance and plus I don’t live with her.

[KrisD15]

Depends.

Whether she claims the 1098-T is determined by if she claims you as her dependent.

Living away at school can count as living at home. 

If you are a student, you can be her dependent up until age 24. 

The main issue would be whether you supplied more than have of your own support. 

If you received any scholarships, that does not count as you supplying your own support. Earned wages would count. 

I have linked a worksheet to determine support. 

IRS Support Worksheet

[NCperson]

@alowe1800 -  why are you not  trying to find ways to ensure you are claimed by your mother? Something sees odd with this picture. 

the tax credit is normally worth a lot more on her tax return than it is on yours.  She can claim get up to a $2500 tax credit, claim head of household, and obtain up to $500 for a qualifying relative (you!)

how much is your income? and I can explain how much the credit is worth to you. 

please do not confuse income with support.   You could make a $1,000,000 of income, but on the support tests she could  be supporting you.  

if you are a full time student living away from home for school purposes, you are still considered living at home. 

[Hal_Al]

"plus I don’t live with her".

That does matter. If you have totally moved out (not just away for school), and did so for more than half of 2019,  then she cannot claim you as a dependent and cannot claim the tuition credit (cannot claim your 1098-T).  See full dependent rules at 

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Rules-for-Claiming-a-Dependent-on-Your-Tax-Ret...

It matters whether you support your self by working or whether you also have student loans and grants.  

There's a new urban myth among college students that says they can get a $1000 from the government just for filing a tax form. For most of them, they simply aren't eligible. A full time, unmarried student, under age 24, is only eligible for the refundable portion of the American Opportunity Credit if he supports himself by working(earned income). You cannot be supporting yourself on parental support, 529 plans or student loans & grants. You usually must have actually paid tuition, not had it paid by scholarships & grants.  It is usually best if the parent claims that credit. 

You cannot claim a credit if you are, or can be, claimed as a dependent by someone else.

[alowe1800]

I lived with my dad for half of 2019 if I’m still making mistake please correct me 

The only reason why I’m afraid of her claiming my 1098-t because she has penalties from the irs for tax fraud. 

[AmyC]

Please take a short online, anonymous, IRS quiz, to figure all this out. It may take several. They are quick and easy.

Filing Status, Dependents and Exemptions  will help figure out who claims who.

Credits - who can claim what credits

Just to have for additional help, Worksheet for Determining Support

The IRS is the best source for a correct answer to all of your questions.

[NCperson]

first thing, go to this IRS link and determine with your parents who is able to claim you.  Who claimed you last year? Answer the questions in the tool as if you were that parent. 

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/whom-may-i-claim-as-a-dependent

Hopefully, y'all get to a place where they can claim you.  If so, they just need to put the 1098T on their tax return.

The government just delayed the tax deadline until July 15th (federal only, no word on what States are doing), so you have a little more time to figure this all out.