I am claiming the american opportunity credit on my return therefore I entered the 1098T on my taxes. However, because my college savings plan (known as a Qualified Tuition Plan or QTP) sent payment to my son's school directly, he is named on the 1099Q. Therefore, my son entered the 1099Q on his form. IF you as the parent had to pay directly for education expenses instead of having your savings plan send a check directly to the school then the 1099Q would go on the parent's return.
So in summary - if the parent is claiming an education credit like the american opportunity tax credit, the the 1098T is added by the parent. If the 1099Q was sent directly to the school and your child needs to file taxes, then you son or daughter would enter the 1099Q on their return and they would check the box that asks if someone else will claim them as a dependent.
The only thing that is not clear to me is it seems your dependent (son or daughter) would also enter the 1098 T if they first entered the 1099Q on their return. TT wants to know whether the 1099Q was applied towards qualified education expenses. Your son or daughter would be asked by TT about qualified education expenses and specifically asked if they received a 1098T. Even if the parent entered it as well, I don't see how the student can avoid entering the 1098T on their form as well since they need some way to enter their qualified education expenses for the purpose of determining if they owe taxes on the earnings from their 1099Q.
