Hi all, this is my first time filing taxes so I am rather confused. In terms of actual income, I made $800 from a part time job last semester (didn't have any withheld so maybe I have to pay some taxes on that).
However, when my university gave me my 1098-T, my box 5 for scholarships was much higher than my box 1 for tuition paid. It recently came to my attention that this extra amount is considered taxable income (no one had bothered to tell me that before - 2019 was my first full year as a student so luckily it didn't affect anything for 2018). This is accurate, since my scholarship also covers my room and board and other expenses beyond just tuition.
The issue is that on TurboTax, I can enter all my 1098-T info and it shows that I owe a few hundred in taxes. I am fine paying that if I must. Also, I have two options: I can say that I am *eligible* to be claimed as a dependent but will not be claimed, and this gives me a lower amount owed than if I say I *will be* claimed - so should I then tell my parents they shouldn't claim me as a dependent?
The rules are just really confusing to me, and my parents don't know what to do either. Help would be appreciated!
