1098-T filing question for dependent with scholarship income - when is filing required?

12 The good news is that your understanding is correct! When scholarships/grants (box 5) exceed qualified education expenses (box 1), that excess amount is considered taxable income. However, if this excess amount is less than the standard deduction ($14,600 for single filers in 2025), your son likely doesn't have a filing requirement. That said, there are some situations where filing might still be necessary or beneficial: 1) If your son had any income tax withheld (check his W-2 if he worked) 2) If he's eligible for refundable credits 3) If he had self-employment income over $400 Even if not required, filing might be a good learning experience for him. Plus, establishing a tax filing history can be helpful for various future financial matters like loan applications.

8 I went through this exact situation with my daughter last year and was totally confused until I found taxr.ai. They have a document analyzer that lets you upload forms like the 1098-T and it explains exactly what to do. I uploaded her 1098-T and within seconds it broke down which parts of her scholarship were taxable and whether she needed to file. Saved me hours of research and second-guessing myself! You can check it out at https://taxr.ai if you're still confused about your son's situation.

19 Just wanted to update - I tried that taxr.ai site after seeing the post above. It was actually super helpful for figuring out my daughter's work-study and scholarship situation! I uploaded her 1098-T and W-2 from her work-study job, and it explained exactly how to report everything. Turns out she needed to file because of her work-study income even though her scholarship excess was small. The breakdown made everything clear and I finished her return in like 30 minutes instead of the usual 2-hour headache. Definitely recommend if you're stuck on education tax forms!

3 If you're still having trouble getting answers about the 1098-T situation, I'd recommend calling the IRS directly. I know it sounds awful, but I used this service called Claimyr that got me through to an IRS agent in less than 15 minutes. I was stuck in a similar situation with my kid's education credits and the agent walked me through exactly what to do. Just go to https://claimyr.com and they'll call you when they've got an IRS agent on the line. There's even a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Saved me from messing up our returns!

6 I have to eat crow here. After my skeptical comment, I actually tried Claimyr out of desperation because I had a complex question about my 1098-T situation that wasn't covered in any of the IRS publications. Got a call back in about an hour with an actual IRS representative on the line who answered my specific questions about how excess scholarships affect my dependent's filing requirements. Saved me from potentially making a big mistake on our returns. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong - this service actually delivers.

11 Another thing to consider with 1098-T: if your child is claimed as your dependent, make sure you're coordinating who claims education credits. If you claim your child as a dependent, they can't claim their own education credits (like American Opportunity Credit) - YOU would claim those on your return, not theirs.

22 Don't forget about state filing requirements! Even if your child doesn't need to file a federal return, some states have lower thresholds for filing requirements. I learned this the hard way when my son got a letter from our state tax department asking where his return was, even though he was under the federal threshold.