Can I claim my own 1098-T for tuition I paid myself?

Based on what you've described, this comes down to two separate questions: whether you can be claimed as a dependent, and who can claim the education expenses. For dependency, your parents can only claim you if you meet the criteria for a "qualifying child" or "qualifying relative." Since you're over 19 and a part-time student, you'd need to be under 24 to be considered a qualifying child. But more importantly, if you provide more than half of your own support (housing, food, education, etc.), then you don't meet the support test for dependency regardless of age. As for the education credits (American Opportunity Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit), the general rule is that whoever claims you as a dependent gets to claim the education expenses. If you cannot be claimed as a dependent, then YOU should claim your own education expenses on your tax return. The 1098-T doesn't actually determine who gets to claim the credit - it just reports that tuition was paid. What matters is who can legally claim you as a dependent based on the IRS rules.

I went through this exact situation with my parents a couple years ago! After going back and forth and getting nowhere, I tried this tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out whether I qualified as independent or dependent. You upload your documents like the 1098-T and answer a few questions about your situation, and it explains exactly who can claim what. It confirmed that since I was paying more than half my expenses, my parents couldn't legally claim me. I showed them the analysis from the tool and they finally backed down because it spelled out the exact IRS rules that applied. It saved me nearly $1,500 on my taxes that year because I was able to claim the American Opportunity Credit for myself! The tool also highlighted some other deductions I was eligible for as a student that I had no idea about.

Wanted to follow up - I tried that taxr.ai site that was mentioned earlier and it was exactly what I needed! I uploaded my 1098-T, W-2, and answered questions about my living situation and expenses. The report showed that I was providing 76% of my own support, which means I definitely don't qualify as a dependent. The tool created a detailed PDF explaining which specific IRS tests I failed for being claimed as a dependent, with actual citations to the tax code. When I showed this to my dad, he finally backed down because it was so clear. I was able to claim my education credit myself and got back an extra $1,000 on my refund! It also pointed out that I qualified for a state tuition credit I didn't even know about. Seriously saved me so much stress and money. Just filed my taxes last week and it feels amazing to have this resolved.

If your parents won't listen to reason, you might need to go ahead and file your return first claiming yourself and the education credit. The problem is your parents might still try to claim you, which will cause both your returns to get flagged by the IRS. I had this problem last year and spent MONTHS trying to call the IRS to resolve it. Literally could not get through on the phone ever. Then someone told me about this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that gets you through to an actual IRS agent. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was super hesitant because it sounded too good to be true, but it actually worked! Instead of waiting on hold for hours, they navigated the phone system and called me back when they had an agent on the line. I explained the dependent situation to the IRS agent who confirmed that if I provide more than half my support, my parents couldn't claim me. Having that official answer was what finally resolved my situation.

I have to admit I was totally wrong about Claimyr. After my last comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to resolve my dependent situation before the tax deadline. Got connected to an IRS agent within 45 minutes! The agent confirmed everything the other commenters were saying - if I provided more than half my support (which I did), then legally I cannot be claimed as a dependent regardless of my student status or age. I had my parents on speakerphone for the call, and hearing it directly from an IRS agent finally convinced them. The agent even explained that if my parents incorrectly claimed me when I wasn't eligible to be a dependent, they could face penalties if audited. Saved myself so much stress and probably avoided a rejected return. Definitely would have spent hours (or days) trying to get through to the IRS on my own.

Something nobody mentioned yet - make sure you're calculating "support" correctly. The IRS has specific rules about what counts: - Housing (rent/mortgage, utilities, property taxes, insurance, repairs) - Food - Clothing - Medical/dental expenses - Education - Transportation (car payments, insurance, gas, public transit) - Recreation/entertainment - Personal items (hygiene products, haircuts, etc) Scholarship money usually counts as support YOU provided, even if your parents helped you get the scholarship. But any loans in your name that YOU are responsible for repaying count as support YOU provided. Document everything to prove you're providing your own support in case of an audit. Keep receipts, bank statements, etc.

Has anyone mentioned the American Opportunity Tax Credit? If you're eligible (and it sounds like you are) you can get up to $2,500 back - and up to $1,000 of that is REFUNDABLE even if you don't owe any taxes. That's probably why your parents want to claim it so bad. There's also the Lifetime Learning Credit which is less but still worth up to $2,000 (non-refundable tho). Your parents are probably used to getting this money every year while you were in school and don't want to give it up, but if you're paying your own way, that money belongs to YOU.

The key thing to remember here is that dependency status and education credits are linked. If your parents cannot legally claim you as a dependent (which sounds like the case since you're providing more than half your own support), then they also cannot claim your education expenses. At 23 with $32k income and paying all your own expenses, you're almost certainly not eligible to be claimed as a dependent. The "qualifying child" test requires you to be under 24 AND not provide more than half your own support. Since you're paying rent, food, tuition, everything - you're providing way more than 50% of your support. File your return claiming yourself and your education credit. If your parents still try to claim you, both returns will get flagged and the IRS will sort it out. Just make sure you have documentation of all the expenses you pay (rent receipts, tuition payments, grocery receipts, etc.) to prove you provide your own support. Don't let family pressure override tax law. The money from that education credit rightfully belongs to whoever actually paid the tuition expenses.