I have a question about 1098-T reporting. I've tried to make sense of it myself, but all I've done is make my head hurt.
My son started college in Fall 2023. The 1098-T wasn't even on my radar last year, so it got completely left off of our taxes. He had no other income, but I am still claiming him as a dependent.
I got an email about the 1098-T forms from the school today, so I had him go pull them and send them to me.
The form for 2023 has a value in box 5 that is less than box 1 - so no issue there since I didn't report it on my 2023 taxes (and I wouldn't have qualified for any deductions/credits anyway, so I didn't miss out on anything).
The form for 2024 has a number in box 5 that is greater than box 1. I had already filed taxes for both of us. He had a job this past summer that earned about $4k, so I filed a separate return for him, too.
I just did his amended return. The difference between box 1 and box 5 still keeps his income less than the $5900 standard deduction, so it didn't change anything. I just went ahead and filed the amended return to cover myself. He didn't qualify for any deductions because the "someone else can claim me as a dependent" box was checked.
However, if he had not worked this summer and had his own W-2, would I have had to report the 1098-T numbers on my taxes? In that case, would I have owed taxes on roughly the $1400 difference between box 5 and 1 based on my income/tax bracket?
I'm asking because for 2025, he will be getting his scholarships for 3 semesters (Spring, Summer, and Fall) but will likely not work/have any earned income or a W-2.
Will I be able to file a separate return for him just to cover the 1098-T, or will it have go on my 2025 return? I don't really want to pay any taxes on this "funny money" at my tax rate. It's not even really income. This past year, he didn't even get the full difference back. The school kept pretty much all of it to pay required fees that aren't considered allowable education expenses by the IRS (ie, he lived in the dorm in spring of 2024).
My son started college in Fall 2023. The 1098-T wasn't even on my radar last year, so it got completely left off of our taxes. He had no other income, but I am still claiming him as a dependent.
I got an email about the 1098-T forms from the school today, so I had him go pull them and send them to me.
The form for 2023 has a value in box 5 that is less than box 1 - so no issue there since I didn't report it on my 2023 taxes (and I wouldn't have qualified for any deductions/credits anyway, so I didn't miss out on anything).
The form for 2024 has a number in box 5 that is greater than box 1. I had already filed taxes for both of us. He had a job this past summer that earned about $4k, so I filed a separate return for him, too.
I just did his amended return. The difference between box 1 and box 5 still keeps his income less than the $5900 standard deduction, so it didn't change anything. I just went ahead and filed the amended return to cover myself. He didn't qualify for any deductions because the "someone else can claim me as a dependent" box was checked.
However, if he had not worked this summer and had his own W-2, would I have had to report the 1098-T numbers on my taxes? In that case, would I have owed taxes on roughly the $1400 difference between box 5 and 1 based on my income/tax bracket?
I'm asking because for 2025, he will be getting his scholarships for 3 semesters (Spring, Summer, and Fall) but will likely not work/have any earned income or a W-2.
Will I be able to file a separate return for him just to cover the 1098-T, or will it have go on my 2025 return? I don't really want to pay any taxes on this "funny money" at my tax rate. It's not even really income. This past year, he didn't even get the full difference back. The school kept pretty much all of it to pay required fees that aren't considered allowable education expenses by the IRS (ie, he lived in the dorm in spring of 2024).