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Just a quick bit of advice based on my experience as someone who's filed with 1098-Ts for years: make sure you understand the difference between Box 1 and Box 2 on the form! Box 1 shows payments RECEIVED by the school, while Box 2 (on older forms) showed amounts BILLED. The IRS cares about what was actually paid (Box 1), not what was billed. Also, don't forget that you need to subtract any tax-free educational assistance (scholarships and grants) from the total qualified expenses before calculating your credit.
StarSeeker
ā¢This is super helpful! Question though - my daughter's 1098-T has an amount in Box 5 for scholarships. Do I literally just subtract Box 5 from Box 1 to figure out what expenses I can claim for the education credit?
Yes, that's exactly right. Take the amount in Box 1 (payments received by the school) and subtract the amount in Box 5 (scholarships/grants). The result is your eligible qualified education expenses that you can use for calculating education credits. Just be aware that if Box 5 is larger than Box 1, it means the scholarships/grants exceeded the tuition/fees, and you generally can't claim education credits in that case. Also, don't forget that expenses for books, supplies, and equipment required for courses can be qualified education expenses even if they weren't paid directly to the school (so they wouldn't be included in Box 1).
Ava Martinez
Has anyone used TurboTax for this situation? I'm trying to enter my son's 1098-T but it keeps asking who paid the expenses, and I'm not sure what to put since the money came from several different sources (my account, his savings, and his aunt).
Miguel Ortiz
ā¢I used TurboTax last year for this. When it asks who paid, you can select "you" as long as you're claiming the student as a dependent. They don't need the breakdown of where each dollar came from - they just need to know if you (as the taxpayer claiming the dependent) are the one claiming the expenses.
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One important thing that hasn't been mentioned is the tiebreaker rules the IRS uses when both parents claim the same dependent. Even as the custodial parent, it's good to know these: 1. If only one person is the child's parent, they get priority 2. If both are parents, the parent who lived with the child longer during the year gets priority 3. If time lived with both is equal, the parent with higher AGI gets priority 4. If neither parent can claim the child, the person with higher AGI gets priority As the custodial parent, you should win under rule #2, but having documentation of the time the kids lived with you is super important!
Connor Byrne
ā¢Are these tiebreaker rules still relevant if there's a court order specifying who claims the children? My divorce decree states I get to claim our daughter in even years and my ex in odd years, but I've heard different things about whether the IRS actually follows these orders.
The IRS doesn't automatically enforce divorce decrees or court orders about who claims dependents - they follow tax law first. However, a court order can be enforced if the custodial parent completes Form 8332 (Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent) transferring the right to claim the dependent to the non-custodial parent. Without that signed form, the IRS will generally allow the custodial parent to claim the child regardless of what the divorce decree says. This often surprises people. If your decree says you get to claim in even years but you're not the custodial parent, your ex would need to complete Form 8332 for those years to make it work for tax purposes.
Yara Elias
Just fyi - I got absolutely destroyed when my ex and I both claimed our kid. We both thought we had the right (I was custodial parent but our decree said he could claim in odd years). IRS froze both our refunds for 8 months and we both had to submit tons of documentation. I would highly recommend getting this sorted BEFORE you file rather than dealing with the headache afterward. And definitely don't count on an extension to "lock in" anything - it really doesn't work that way.
Did you ever get your refund? I'm going through this exact situation right now and it's been 6 months with no resolution.
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Evelyn Kim
Don't forget to check if you qualify for the home sale exclusion too! If you lived in the inherited house as your primary residence for at least 2 of the 5 years before selling, you might be able to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain ($500,000 if married filing jointly). This is ON TOP OF the step-up in basis. So even if you had some gains after the step-up, you might not owe any taxes at all. My brother inherited mom's house, lived in it for 3 years, then sold it for a $75k gain over the stepped-up value and didn't owe a penny in capital gains.
Diego Fisher
ā¢Does the exclusion apply if you inherited only a portion of the house? My sister and I each inherited 50% of our parents' home, but only I lived in it.
Evelyn Kim
ā¢That's a great question! If you owned 50% of the home and lived in it as your primary residence for the required time period, you can exclude up to $250,000 of your portion of the gain. Your sister, however, wouldn't qualify for the exclusion on her 50% if she didn't live there. So in this scenario, you would get the step-up in basis on your inherited 50%, plus the potential exclusion if you met the residency requirements, while your sister would only get the step-up in basis on her 50%.
IMPORTANT: Make sure you're keeping track of any improvements your grandmother made to the property!! If she added a new roof, remodeled kitchens/bathrooms, finished a basement, etc., those costs increase her original basis! My tax guy said people forget this all the time and end up paying more in capital gains than they should.
This is actually incorrect advice for inherited property. With the step-up in basis, improvements made by the previous owner don't matter. The basis becomes the fair market value at date of death, which already incorporates the value of any improvements.
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Jacob Lee
One thing nobody's mentioned here is that you should document everything about your custody time. Keep a calendar marking all days your child was with you, save texts or emails about exchanges, school records showing your address, medical appointments, etc. If this becomes a dispute with the IRS (which happens when two people claim the same child), having documentation is crucial. The IRS will side with whoever can prove they had the child the majority of the time.
Does the documentation need to be official court papers? My ex and I have an informal arrangement without anything filed with the court. We just text about scheduling.
Jacob Lee
ā¢No, your documentation doesn't need to be official court papers, although those are helpful if you have them. Text messages about custody exchanges, school records showing your address as the child's residence, medical appointments you took them to, daycare records - all of these can help establish where the child primarily lived. The key is to show a pattern that supports your claim that the child lived with you for more than half the year. Even a personal calendar where you've marked custody days can be useful, especially if it's backed up by other evidence like texts confirming those exchanges happened. Save everything - the more documentation you have, the stronger your case will be if questioned.
Just a heads up - whoever files first usually gets the benefit initially. If your ex's boyfriend files first claiming your child, your e-filed return will likely be rejected. You'll need to paper file and then the IRS will investigate. This happened to me last year. My ex's new wife claimed my kid even though they only had weekend visitation. I had to paper file, and then a few months later we both got letters from the IRS. I sent in my documentation showing my son was with me most of the time, and eventually got my refund with the proper credits.
How long did the whole process take? I'm worried about my refund being held up for months if something like this happens.
Ethan Scott
Make sure you file your taxes ASAP! My ex's girlfriend tried claiming my kid a few years back, and because she filed before me, her return got accepted first. I had to paper file with documentation proving my case, and it took MONTHS to get resolved. The IRS basically treats it as first-come, first-served until someone contests it. If you have documentation showing your kid lived with you for more than half the year (school records showing your address, medical records, childcare receipts, etc.), keep all of that handy. Also, check your divorce decree - sometimes there's specific language about who can claim the child in which years that can help your case.
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Lola Perez
ā¢Does filing first actually help though? I thought the IRS eventually figures it all out regardless of who files first? How long did it take to get your refund once you contested?
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Ethan Scott
ā¢Filing first definitely helps because the e-file system will automatically reject the second return that tries to claim the same dependent with the same SSN. The person who files second will then have to paper file and contest, which puts the burden of proof on them. For me, it took about 4 months to get my refund after I contested the improper claim. The IRS had to review all my documentation proving my child lived with me majority of the year. They eventually ruled in my favor and released my refund, plus they likely assessed penalties on my ex's girlfriend for the improper claim. Not an enjoyable process but worth fighting for if it's your rightful credit!
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Nathaniel Stewart
Make sure that if you do agree to let her boyfriend claim the child (which it sounds like you shouldn't), you DO NOT also claim the same child on your return. If two people claim the same dependent, it triggers automatic flags in the IRS system. When my brother and his ex both claimed their son one year (miscommunication), they both got audited, both returns were held up for 8+ months, and they had to provide extensive documentation. Both ended up getting hit with penalties even though it was unintentional. Also remember that if the boyfriend improperly claims your child and gets caught, he could be banned from claiming certain tax credits for up to 10 years. Might be worth mentioning that when you explain why he can't claim your kid.
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Riya Sharma
ā¢Whoa, I had no idea the penalties could be that serious! Can the IRS really ban someone from tax credits for a whole decade??
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