@MikSek
- first the question about did he finish 4 years... you should answer NO. He may have done 4 years of college but, they didn't complete their 4 year degree.
-There may be a benefit for your student to claim the education credit and claim the entire 1098T depending on their income level. If they are your dependent, they do not though get a full standard deduction. The standard deduction for dependents is limited to either $1,100 or the dependent's earned income plus an additional $350, whichever figure is greater. This is only a benefit if you are a high income taxpayer where you may not get the benefit of them as a dependent. It would be you don't claim them, they can not claim themselves unless they covered over 50% of their expenses with earned income. you would have to try the different scenarios out. If they do not claim themselves, they can reduce their taxes owed to the extent of the tax credit for education. They also then could possibly open an IRA to the extent of their earned income and start saving for retirement early.
So now on the 1098-t front if you do claim it. The truth is what you fill in is not even reported to the IRS. you can just put in the total expenses, don't forget you have books and other items to add that were needed for attending. Only the Form 8863 will go to the IRS.
Save different versions but, you most certainly can just claim the net amount and forget about following the interview. Or take the total expense and let your student claim the income. Sometimes TT is finicky and you need to work around it. Use whatever version of claiming the income and expense works best between you and your student.
**I don't work for TT. Just trying to help. All the best.
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**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer" I am NOT an expert and you should confirm with a tax expert.
