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January 27, 2023
Question

What if I don’t have a 1098 form for school, can I still add it to my filing for the grants I received?

  • January 27, 2023
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I didn’t receive a 1098 from my school I’m assuming because I only used grants

1 reply

Hal_Al
Employee
January 27, 2023

Q. Can I still add it to my filing for the grants I received?

A. Yes.  The interview will ask if you qualify for an exception for the 1098-T. Answer yes ("I didn’t receive a 1098 from my school... because I only used grants"). 

 

That said,   What is it you are trying to do? What do you mean by "filing for the grants I received"?

 

Some of your grants may be taxable. Taxable scholarship, including Pell grants, is the amount of the scholarship that exceeds qualified educational expenses (QEE) (tuition, fees and undergraduate course materials). if you had no other income and your grants do not exceed your QEE by more than $12,950, you do not need to file. 

 

Taxable scholarship is not earned income for claiming the Child Tax Credit or Earned Income Credit.

 

There is a tax “loop hole” available to claim a tuition credit. The student reports all his scholarship, up to the amount needed to claim the American Opportunity Credit (AOC), as income on his return. That way, the parents  (or himself, if he is not a dependent) can claim the tuition credit on their return. They can do this because that much tuition was no longer paid by "tax free" scholarship.  You cannot do this if the school’s billing statement specifically shows the scholarships being applied to tuition or if the conditions of the grant are that it be used to pay for qualified expenses.

Using an example: Student has $10,000 in box 5 of the 1098-T and $8000 in box 1. At first glance he/she has $2000 of taxable income and nobody can claim the American opportunity credit. But if she reports $6000 as income on her return, the parents can claim $4000 of qualified expenses on their return.

Books and computers are also qualifying expenses for the AOC. So, extending the example, the student had another $1000 in expenses for those course materials, paid out of pocket, she would only need to report $5000 of taxable scholarship income, instead of $6000.