topic Why do I have to pay now that I have put in tuition and Loan interest information? in Education

Why do I have to pay now that I have put in tuition and Loan interest information?

HannahEsmith97 — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 17:12:01 GMT

I only make a little over $17,000 a year and I was a full-time student last year. When I put in my student loan information and my tuition expenses, I am no longer getting a small refund, now I owe over $500... why?

Re: Why do I have to pay now that I have put in tuition and Loan interest information?

MayaD — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 17:38:30 GMT

Does your 1098-T form has an amount in box 5 for scholarships/grants?

The amount in box 5 that exceeds the amount of qualifying educational expenses becomes taxable income.

Re: Why do I have to pay now that I have put in tuition and Loan interest information?

hbl3973 — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 17:46:39 GMT

HannahEsmith97,

You've got a puzzler there but there are some possibilities:

A mis-entry of your educational financial information
Scholarship income exceeding tuition-related expenses
A dependent status issue

In order to further assist, I would need some details as we volunteers in this forum cannot and should never see your personal tax return. These details include:

Age as of 1/1/2020
Are you being claimed as a dependent by parent(s)
Did you receive financial aid other than loans, if so, how much?
Did you also pay for books and other course materials with your own or borrowed funds?

Hopefully, this will be enough to figure things out for you.