Work Study Financial Aid / Income Question, Please help

colcol17 · ‎April 01, 2026

My daughter is a full time college student who went from being an undergraduate in May 2025, to a graduate student in August 2025. She had work study as both an undergrad and a grad student. The school sent her a W2 with her wages. My question: In Turbotax, it asks if her grants/scholarships were reported as income. Work study is a grant. She and I are working on her taxes as she is 25 and considered independent now according to TT - even though I still support her. She made about $9000 from working at school. How does she report it? Is it correct to say some of her grant was already reported as income? We don't want to get this wrong. Thank you for your help!

Hal_Al

Q. Is it correct to say some of her grant was already reported as income?

A. Probably not. You have to know whether the school has included the $9000 in both box 5 of the 1098-T and the W-2. That would be unusual, but not unheard of.

If the $9000 is not included in box 5, you do not mention it in the 1098-T section (it's already been accounted for in the wage section of TurboTax). That is, answer no to the question was any of the scholarship already reported on a W-2.

Hal_Al

If you and/or your daughter only claimed the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) 3 or fewer times in the past, she is eligible for it in her 2025 tax return, even though she is in grad school (because she had not completed 4 years of college before 1-1-25). If y'all have claimed it 4 times, she may be eligible for the less generous Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC).

Here's a post on the five main points on the 1098-T:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/college-education/discussion/re-what-do-i-do-with-form-1098t/01/37...