Hal_Al
Level 15

Education

Simple answer: you don't enter it anywhere.  But, taxes aren't simple.  If that is her only income, she does not need to report it, because it is below the filing threshold of $12,550*.  If it does need to be reported, it goes on her tax return, not yours. 

 

If she does need to enter it, it gets entered in the educational expenses section, of TurboTax (TT), not in the income section.  Basically, TT sees the $4000 difference between box 5 and box 1 and treats it as taxable. Entering book and computer expenses can reduce the taxable portion. 

 

*You do not report his/her income on your return. If it has to be reported, at all, it goes on his own return. If your dependent child is under age 19 (or under 24 if a full time student), he or she must file a tax return for 2021 if he had any of the following:

  1.          Total income (wages, salaries, taxable scholarship etc.) of more than $12,550 (2021).
  2.          Unearned income (interest, dividends, capital gains, unemployment) of more than $1100.
  3.          Unearned income over $350 and gross income of more than $1100
  4.          Household employee income (e.g. baby sitting, lawn mowing) over $2300 ($12,550 if under age 18)
  5.          Other self employment income over $432, including money on a form 1099-NEC

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There is a tax “loop hole” available. The student reports all his scholarship, up to the amount needed to claim the American Opportunity Credit (AOC), as income on his return. That way, the parents  (or himself, if he is not a dependent) can claim the tuition credit on their return. They can do this because that much tuition was no longer paid by "tax free" scholarship.  You cannot do this if the school’s billing statement specifically shows the scholarships being applied to tuition or if the conditions of the grant are that it be used to pay for qualified expenses.

Using an example: Student has $10,000 in box 5 of the 1098-T and $8000 in box 1. At first glance he/she has $2000 of taxable income and nobody can claim the American opportunity credit. But if she reports $6000 as income on her return, the parents can claim $4000 of qualified expenses on their return.

Books and computers are also qualifying expenses for the AOC. So, extending the example, the student had another $1000 in expenses for those course materials, paid out of pocket, she would only need to report $5000 of taxable scholarship income, instead of $6000.