Who enters the 1098-T on their return my son or me (parent)?

[xmasbaby0]

@sonnyzadeh Her father cannot get the education credit if you file a joint return.  He cannot claim a dependent who is filing a joint return with a spouse, and he would only be able to get the credit if she was claimed as his dependent.

[Carl]

A married person who is filing joint with their spouse can not be claimed as a dependent by anyone. Education expenses can only be claimed on the tax return with the student's name on it. Be that student a tax filer or a dependent. Since your wife can not be claimed as a dependent by anyone, all education stuff will be claimed/reported on your joint tax return. it *does* *not* *matter* who paid it either.

[sonnyzadeh]

Thanks so much @xmasbaby0  and @Carl !

[windofheaven]

I like your style, dude.

[etuason1978]

quick question. 

i just filed mine, and my kids taxes. all three have been approved. 

but just today my daughter said she got an email from her school a 2020 1098-T form. 

She filed on her own, she wasnt filed as a dependent, so who has to amend or if we even need to amend? 

do I have to file this on mine or hers?

[MarilynG1]

@etuason1978 If your daughter is not a dependent on your return, she can file the 1098-T on her return.

Whether she needs to Amend her Return depends on if she would qualify for an Education Credit (Box 1 larger than Box 5), or have Taxable Scholarship Income to report (Box 5 larger than Box 1).

She can enter open her return and add the 1098-T in the Education section. If it changes the amount of her Refund, click this link for info on How to Amend your 2020 Return.   If it does not, she can just save it for her records.  

Here's more info on How to Enter a 1098-T. 

[etuason1978]

Thank you so much!!!!!

[etuason1978]

ok apologies.. but where would i go to re-open? it only gives me an option to print out her w-2 that we filed already. 

so sorry, usually my dad does the returns for us.. this is the first yr im doing it. 

when i go to amend through turbo tax it says its not available and the 1040 will be ready on 3/25/21

[JotikaT2]

The forms are not available in TurboTax yet.  You will need to wait until the forms are released on the date indicated and then proceed to file her amended return at that time.

Forms release dates

Steps to amend your return

[filmfreak-1138]

I think I have somewhat of an understanding on this annoying 1098-T form thing but I need some clarification. My son had to move back into the home after the covid hit the air.  He moved back in in April. He was still was enrolled in school and finished the classes for that term. He took some summer classes and enrolled full time for the fall. So I claimed him as a dependent. I put in the 1098-t information and TT pops-up a message that he will need to file his own tax return. Box 1 has the amount of $10176.58 box 5 has $16045.00 he did buy books of around $1,300. He did not work any paying jobs as he was a full time student. I did file his return and mark that someone else can claim him as a dependent.  At the end TT came up with 0 money on the return. No money is owed or received. I have not sent the return to the IRS yet. Is this the correct way of doing this and why did it come up even as in 0 money?

Thanks

[KrisD15]

Yes, although the student needed to claim income because of the scholarship, in your case, it does not put him over the filing requirement, or at least it shows a zero return. 

When YOUR TurboTax program determined there was income for the student generated from the 1098-T, it would have no way of knowing what other income the student had in order to determine if the student would owe tax. 

[sdsandstrum]

What if the student is only part time?  My son took two online classes last semester which wasn't anywhere near full time.  Can I as the parent (and who paid the bills) still claim his 1098 T on my return if all other circumstances were met?

[ToddL99]

It is unlikely he would qualify for the American opportunity tax credit , but he probably would qualify for the  Lifetime Learning Credit. 

He would have to be an eligible student  to claim the American opportunity tax credit . Two online courses would almost certainly not qualify as "at least half the normal full-time workload for the course of study". You would have to contact the school's registrar to confirm this.

From the IRS Education Credits,  an eligible student is a student who:

• Was enrolled in a program leading to a degree, certificate or other recognized postsecondary educational credential for at least one academic period beginning in the tax year.
• Carried at least half the normal full-time workload for the course of study.
• Didn't make an election to claim the Hope or AOTC (or a combination of both) for any 4 earlier tax years.
• Hasn't completed the first 4 years of postsecondary education before the beginning of the tax year.
• Doesn't have a federal or state felony conviction for possessing or distributing a controlled substance as of the end of the tax year.

He would probably qualify for the Lifetime Learning Credit.  Generally, you can claim the lifetime learning credit if you meet the following requirements:

• You paid qualified tuition and related expenses for higher education of a student enrolled in one or more courses at an eligible educational institution to acquire or improve job skills.
• The student for whom you paid the qualified tuition and related expenses is you, your spouse, or a dependent you claim on your tax return.
• You paid the qualified tuition and related expenses in the tax year for an academic period beginning in that year or in the first 3 months of the following year.

[sheshe2]

I received my daughters 1098-T for 2020 and box 7 was checked for the first time. This was very confusing to me. I called the school and they said she was billed for Spring 2021 in 2020 that's why it's checked. She will be graduating this May 2021. They have never checked box 7 before. Box 1 has  $42,577 and box 5 has $ $33,114 which really makes no sense to me. She did have summer classes in 2020 $5017 included in box 1.

This will create a 2021 1098-T  box 1 $0 box 5 $15,500.

Is there anything I can do to remedy this situation? Why and how is this even allowed to happen?

Thank you

[MaryM428]

When you prepare your 2020 tax return only include for Box 1 the expenses that applied to 2020.  Then when you prepare 2021 taxes, you will enter the amount paid for the 2021 expenses.

The general rule is that you can deduct (or use as the basis for a credit) on your income tax return those qualified educational expenses that you actually paid in that tax year, for attendance at an eligible educational institution during that tax year.

However, there is an exception (to allow for the way colleges actually register students for classes and issue bills) that you can deduct amounts paid in a tax year, for an academic period beginning in the first three months of the next tax year.

@sheshe2