Showing form 1098-T expenses on tax return when switching from F-1 visa to permanent resident

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
April 12, 2021
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I had a question about Form 1098-T and whether my college expenses can be shown on my tax return. For 2020, I paid some of my college expenses while I had a F-1 student visa. I got my green card and became a permanent resident in July 2020. Do I need to include the college expenses I paid as an F-1 student or only show those that I paid after I became a permanent resident?

Edit: I didn't receive a form 1098-t because my college didn't have my SSN on file. They instead said that to use official receipts along with their tax ID and address information. They said I should first contact a tax prepare to see if my expenses are qualified to be shown on my tax return.

Edit 2: I came to the US in Nov 2016 under a different visa. My parents claimed me as a dependent on their 2017, 2018 and 2019 tax returns.

linaj20201

It depends. If you were a nonresident on the F-visa in 2020, your college expenses while on F-visa would not count. You only count those starting the day when you became a Greencard holder in 2020.

Per IRS, if you meet the green card test at any time during the calendar year, but do not meet the substantial presence test for that year, your residency starting date is the first day on which you are present in the United States as a Lawful Permanent Resident.

Without a Form 1098-T, in order to e-file, you would need the Federal ID of the school.