questions on education expenses/scholarships

[ejudgie]

I have 2 college kids I am entering in info for and had 2 questions:

- Should I always enter room and board under "Other Education Expenses" even if it seems factored into Box 1 of the 1098-T?

- Should 1098-T Box 5's scholarship amount be included under "Scholarships and Grants"?  For some reason, my son has a separate automatically filled in line called "Scholarships/Grants/Fellowships listed on 1098-T" however my daughter does not.  Both have the "Other Scholarships/Grants/Fellowships" where I can enter something and both had something in Box 5.

[Hal_Al]

Q.  Should I always enter room and board under "Other Education Expenses" even if it seems factored into Box 1 of the 1098-T?

A. No.  R&B are not qualified expenses for a tuition credit or tax free scholarship.  R&B would only be entered, in TurboTax (TT), if you have a QTP/ESA/529plan distribution.

R&B are NOT included in box 1 of the 1098-T. If you think it is, you need to contact the school for verification.

Q.  Should 1098-T Box 5's scholarship amount be included under "Scholarships and Grants"?

A. Yes.  You enter the 1098-T, exactly as received.  On the follow up screen "Scholarships and Grants", the box 5 amount will automatically be filled in line called "Scholarships/Grants/Fellowships listed on 1098-T".  Most student do not have any additional scholarship to enter (other than box 5). 

[ejudge69]

Yes I had a 529 distribution also.  I entered the 1099Q info.  So I assume that means I should enter the R&B?

On the scholarship page, I think the issue was I deleted the college and tried to re-add it.  That put TT into a bad state.  After deleting and re-adding my daughter's info, it now it looks correct. 

[DawnC]

Yes, if you entered a 1099-Q, you can add the room and board expense with the school expenses.   As mentioned above, the room and board is not a qualifying expense for the education credits or the scholarship, but it will apply to the 529 distribution amount.    Only the part of the 529 plan distribution that did not cover qualified expenses will be taxable, if any.