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April 16, 2023
Question

My daughter received a scholarship for law school The loan and scholarship all went to tuition. Why is it counting as income on her taxes

  • April 16, 2023
  • 1 reply
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1 reply

Hal_Al
Employee
April 16, 2023

The usual reason is TurboTax (TT) has diverted (allocated) some of the tuition (usually $10K) to the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC), whether she is  eligible or not.  If she is a dependent, TT will assume the parent is claiming the credit.  

 

The 1098-T is only an informational document. The numbers on it are not required to be entered onto your tax return. However receipt of a 1098-T frequently means you are either eligible for a tuition credit or possibly your student has taxable scholarship income.  If you're not claiming either, just don't enter the 1098-T.

 

If the student has both loans and scholarship, it's unlikely that any of the scholarship is taxable.

 

Provide the following info for more specific help:

  • Is the  student  the parent's dependent.
  • Box 1 of the 1098-T
  • box 5 of the 1098-T
  • Any other scholarships not shown in box 5
  • How much taxable income does the student have, from what sources
  • Is the student trying to claim the tuition credit 
  • Is the parent trying to claim the tuition credit 

The LLC is a non refundable credit, equal to 20% of tuition paid up to $10K. The income limit is $180K, phase out at $160K.  Grad students are not eligible for the more generous AOTC.