You don't say what your age is. If you were under 24, on 12-31-19, you parents can claim you as a dependent. The reason is that scholarships, even taxable scholarships are considered as third party support and not as support provided by the qualifying child*.
So, they will file your 1098-Ts. Actually the 1098-T does not "get filed". So, more correctly, your parents will claim the tuition credit and you will claim the taxable scholarships. You cannot claim a tuition credit or deduction for either the grad or undergrad work, because you can be a dependent.
If they claim the American Opportunity Credit (AOC), they can only claim the under grad tuition. There is a 4 time limit on the AOC, which they may have already claimed in the past. If they claim the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC), they may count both grad & undergrad tuition (to the extent that it wasn't covered by tax free scholarship).
*A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:
- He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally & permanently disabled
- He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are considered third party support and not as support provided by the student.
- He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year
So, it doesn't matter how much he earned. What matters is how much he spent on support. Money he put into savings does not count as support he spent on him self.
The support value of the home, provided by the parent, is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants.
You cannot file ei whether or not I qualify as a dependent and if for example my parents could file one of my 1098-Ts and I could file the other so they get the tax break for supporting me for the first semester and I still pay the taxes over the other one. Thanks in advance if
