topic How much of scholarships do you want to allocate to "room and board and noneducational expenses?" Help in Education

How much of scholarships do you want to allocate to "room and board and noneducational expenses?" Help

serchey — Sat, 22 Feb 2025 02:03:58 GMT

I am filing our taxes (single under $60,000 income) and I am stuck on this question:

" How much of the $2,740 received in Pell grants and scholarships do you want to allocate to room and board or other noneducational expenses? "

Here is the info I entered so far into each of the questions asked:

I filed my 1098-T form with box 1 = $1,415.25 (tuition) and box 5 = $2,740 (scholarships)

Did I pay for books or materials for school? YES

Cost of books and materials that you had to buy directly from the school: $0

Cost of books and materials that you didn't have to buy directly from the school: $250

Your 1098-T reported $2,740 in scholarships or grants. Did you receive any other scholarships or grants not reported on a 1098-T? NO

Do you want to allocate part of your Pell grants or scholarships to room and board or other noneducational expenses such as travel, research, or certain equipment? YES

How much of the $2,740 you received in Pell grants and scholarships do you want to allocate to room and board or other noneducational expenses? ????

How do you figure this number? I am trying to get the refund owed to us, not anything extra or unusual, I am just not sure the best way to answer this question and be accurate. Please help if you can, I am about frazzled with this. Thank you in advance.

Re: How much of scholarships do you want to allocate to "room and board and noneducational expenses?" Help

Hal_Al — Sat, 22 Feb 2025 02:52:28 GMT

It takes $4000 of tuition and other qualified educational expenses (QEE) (e.g. books) to get the maximum American Opportunity credit (AOC). That's you goal: free up as much QEE as you can to claim the credit, which you can't do when the scholarship is allocated to QEE. By allocating the scholarship to room & board (R&B) a non qualified expense, you free up QEE for the AOC. You allocate all you can, up to $4000.

So, in your case, you allocate all $2740 to R&B. That allows you to claim the $1665 QEE (1415 + 250 = $1665) for the AOC. The AOC is 100% of the first $2000 QEE and 25% of the next $2000. You will get a $1665 credit.

Your student will have to report $2740 of taxable scholarship on his tax return. If he has no other income, he will pay no actual income tax, because his total income is less than the $14,600 filing requirement.

Re: How much of scholarships do you want to allocate to "room and board and noneducational expenses?" Help

serchey — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 03:17:38 GMT

Hi @Hal_Al i'm back again this year with the same question. This one always stumps me.

This year tuition paid is : $615

Scholarship and Grants : $2,203

Books bought from school directly : $125

Last year it looked like the following, what would it look like this year with the new numbers?

Tuition Paid $1415

Grants and Scholarships $2740

Other Qualified Expenses $4065

Re: How much of scholarships do you want to allocate to "room and board and noneducational expenses?" Help

Hal_Al — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 13:06:10 GMT

You do it exactly like last year: you allocate all $2203 of the scholarship to R&B. That allows you to claim the $740 QEE (615 + 125 = $740) for the AOC.

Be aware, TurboTax has redesigned the education section. Even though you're doing it the same way, the screens are going to look different.