What happens if both me and my parents claim my 1098-T on our tax returns?
I'm in a bit of a weird situation and super confused about how to handle this. I just moved into my own place after finishing fall semester, but my parents are still claiming me as a dependent (I'm 19). This is literally my first time ever filing taxes on my own and I only have two W-2s and my 1098-T form from college. I'm trying to file my taxes this weekend while my parents won't be doing theirs until the end of the month. Should I be including my 1098-T when I file? I'm worried because I heard education credits are a big deal, but I don't want to mess things up if my parents are supposed to claim it since they're listing me as a dependent. What would happen if we accidentally both claimed the same 1098-T? Would the IRS freak out and audit us or something? Any help is really appreciated! I'm stressing out about doing this wrong.
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Nolan Carter
If your parents are claiming you as a dependent on their tax return, they should be the ones claiming the education expenses from your 1098-T, not you. The IRS rules are pretty clear that whoever claims the dependent gets to claim the education credits and deductions associated with that dependent's education. If both you and your parents claim the same 1098-T, the IRS will likely flag both returns since their system will detect the same form being used on multiple returns. This would potentially trigger notices or even audits for both you and your parents, requiring you to provide documentation and explanation.
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Daniel White
•Thanks for explaining! So does that mean I should just completely ignore my 1098-T when I file my return? And do I need to let my parents know anything specific about the form, or should they already know how to handle it?
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Nolan Carter
•Yes, you should not claim any education credits or deductions from your 1098-T on your tax return if you're being claimed as a dependent. You can still file your return with just your W-2 income. Your parents will need the actual 1098-T form or at least all the information from it to properly claim the education credits. Make sure they know which college issued it, the amount paid for qualified tuition and related expenses, and any scholarships or grants you received. They'll need this information to complete Form 8863 for education credits like the American Opportunity Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit.
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Natalia Stone
After spending hours trying to figure out my complicated education credits last year with my daughter in college, I discovered this amazing tool called taxr.ai at https://taxr.ai that literally saved me from making a costly mistake with her 1098-T. The system analyzed all our forms including the 1098-T and showed me exactly who should claim what based on our situation with her being a dependent. It was super helpful because it showed me that since I claimed my daughter as a dependent, I was the one eligible for her education credits even though she had some income of her own. It even calculated how much more beneficial it was for our family overall when I claimed the credits instead of her trying to claim them on her own return.
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Tasia Synder
•Does it actually check if you're eligible for education credits? My situation is kinda complicated because I paid for some of my tuition but my parents paid for most of it.
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Selena Bautista
•I'm skeptical about these tax tools. How does it actually work with the 1098-T specifically? Does it just read the form or does it actually help determine who should claim the credits?
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Natalia Stone
•Yes, it absolutely checks eligibility requirements for education credits! The tool analyzes who paid what portion of educational expenses, your dependency status, and income levels to determine who is eligible and who would benefit most from claiming the credits. The system analyzes the 1098-T and other documents you upload, then applies IRS rules to your specific situation. It doesn't just read the form - it actually interprets the tax implications based on dependency status, who paid the expenses, and other factors to recommend the optimal filing approach for your family's overall tax benefit.
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Selena Bautista
Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai - I decided to try it after my earlier skepticism and wow, I'm glad I did! I was in a similar situation with my son's 1098-T and wasn't sure who should claim what. The tool flagged that I should be claiming the American Opportunity Credit since I claim him as a dependent, even though he wanted to file it on his own return. It saved us from a potential IRS problem and actually increased our refund by $1,375! It showed exactly where on the tax forms everything needed to go. Definitely using this again next year.
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Mohamed Anderson
Hey there! Last year I was in exactly your situation and tried calling the IRS to clarify who should claim the 1098-T but was stuck on hold FOREVER. I eventually found this service called Claimyr at https://claimyr.com that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in like 15 minutes instead of the usual hours-long wait. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent confirmed what others here are saying - since your parents claim you as a dependent, THEY should claim all the education expenses and potential credits from your 1098-T, not you. The agent explained that if both of you claimed it, both returns would be flagged and could potentially be rejected or audited.
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Daniel White
•Wait so this service actually gets you through to the IRS faster? How does that even work? I tried calling them about something else last month and gave up after being on hold for like 45 minutes.
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Ellie Perry
•Yeah right... there's no way any service can magically get you through the IRS phone lines faster. They're notorious for long waits. Sounds like a scam to me.
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Mohamed Anderson
•It uses a system that continuously calls and navigates the IRS phone tree for you until it gets a human, then it calls you and connects you. It's completely legit - I was super skeptical too until I tried it. The service basically does all the waiting and navigating the complicated IRS phone system for you. When it finally reaches a human agent, it calls your phone and connects you directly to that person. No more wasting hours on hold or dealing with disconnects after waiting forever.
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Ellie Perry
I have to eat my words about Claimyr. I tried it yesterday after posting that skeptical comment because my curiosity got the better of me. I was literally connected to an IRS agent in 17 minutes while I just went about my day. I asked them the exact same question about the 1098-T situation with my daughter, and they confirmed that since I claim her as a dependent, I'm the one who should claim her education expenses on my return, not her. They even explained exactly which education credit would be best in our situation. Honestly worth it just to have a definitive answer straight from the IRS instead of guessing.
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Landon Morgan
Another thing to consider - even if you don't claim your 1098-T for education credits, you still need to report any scholarships or grants that exceed your qualified education expenses as taxable income on YOUR return, even if your parents claim you as a dependent. Box 5 on your 1098-T shows scholarships/grants. If that amount is more than what you paid for tuition and required course materials, the excess is considered taxable income to YOU, not your parents.
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Daniel White
•Omg I had no idea about this! So if my scholarships were more than my tuition, I might actually owe taxes on that? Where would I even put that on my tax forms?
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Landon Morgan
•Yes, if your scholarships exceeded your qualified education expenses, the excess amount is considered taxable income. This applies even though your parents claim you as a dependent and get the education credits. You would report this excess scholarship amount on your Form 1040 as "other income" and write "SCH" next to it to indicate it's from scholarships. It's a common misunderstanding that leads to problems later if not reported correctly. The school doesn't always make this clear when they issue the 1098-T.
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Teresa Boyd
Everyone's talking about the education credits but nobody's mentioned the tuition and fees deduction! It's another option that might be better depending on your parents' tax situation.
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Lourdes Fox
•The tuition and fees deduction expired after 2020. It's no longer available for current tax returns. The education credits (American Opportunity Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit) are the only options now.
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Hugo Kass
Hey Daniel! I went through this exact same situation last year when I was 20 and still claimed as a dependent. The key thing is coordination with your parents - you absolutely should NOT claim your 1098-T if they're claiming you as a dependent, but you also need to make sure they actually have the form and know to use it. What I did was give my parents a copy of my 1098-T along with a summary of what I paid versus what they paid for my education expenses. This helped them figure out which education credit to claim and avoid any issues. Also, double-check that they're actually planning to claim you as a dependent - sometimes there are situations where it might be better for the family overall if they don't claim you and you file independently instead. The good news is that if you just have W-2 income and you're not claiming education credits, your return should be pretty straightforward to file. Just don't rush into filing before talking to your parents about the 1098-T situation!
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Nathaniel Stewart
•This is really helpful advice! I'm definitely going to talk to my parents this weekend before I file anything. Just to clarify - when you say "summary of what I paid versus what they paid" - did you literally write out like a breakdown of who paid which bills? I'm trying to figure out if I need to gather receipts or if the 1098-T form has enough info for them to figure out the credits. Also, how do I know if it would be better for me to file independently instead? Is there like a calculator or something to figure out which way saves the family more money overall?
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