I never got one. Now I think I might have to amend my daughter’s 2015 return AND her FAFSA. Yes, this is my fault…I didn’t know scholarships that pay for room and board are taxable. I might have, though, if I had received a 1098-T!
And why does Pitt include information for 2017 on a 2016 form? (Box 7 is checked.)
And why did my youngest have to turn 17 last year, costing me $1,000 in taxes? :">
You can still determine what amount of scholarship is taxable. Print out her tuition statements for 2015, or ask Pitt for another 1098T (I think there is a website you can access it at).
Just add up all scholarships and grants she received in 2015 and deduct the tuition, fees (all fees except transportation and wellness fee), book expenses from that.
The excess of scholarships over qualified tuition, fees and books, is taxable income to your D.
If it is under $6,300 and she had no other income then she doesn’t need to file a tax return.
The 1098-T is usually provided to determine if you can qualify for an education tax credit, such as AOTC, not to report taxable scholarships.
I hear you, my son also turned 17, no more child tax credit for him.
And Pitt puts both semesters of billed expenses and scholarships/grants on the 1098T because they bill in July and Nov and bills are due/aid posts in Aug and Dec, so it’s all in the same tax year. I happen to think that is nice that they do that.
LMK if I can help further. You might not have to amend, it depends.
Pitt is allowed to report information on the 2016 1098-T for an academic term that is in the first three months of 2017.
^that’s what box 7 being checked means.
Also a school is not required to issue a 1098-T if scholarships exceed qualified tuition and fees.
So you want to do the following:
contact Pitt to see if your D was issued a 1098T for 2015, and if she can still access it or can receive a replacement.
figure out how much of her scholarships are taxable income (Add up tuition, qualified fees and books, subtract that from total scholarships).
possibly amend her 2015 tax return if she filed a tax return for that year and didn’t include the taxable scholarship income
let Pitt financial aid know if she needs to amend, send them a copy of the 1040X if they request it.
after amending her return, correct the FAFSA to reflect the correct income information
in the FAFSA question 44d of student section, list the amount of taxable scholarships that she reported on her 2015 (amended) tax return, it will then subtract it from total student income.
Thanks for all the answers!
The good news is that I had figured most of the answers out for myself. The bad news is that I didn’t come back here to let anyone know.
The reason we didn’t get a 1098-T was because the scholarships she received covered all of her costs. This year she had to take out a student loan.
I’m not even going to worry about 2015 because her excess funds and job didn’t add up to $6,300 for the year. This year, though? Whoa, Nellie! Over $500 in taxes due. But, if that’s the price to pay for minimal student loans…we’ll pay it!
Here is what a VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) volunteer posted on Reddit regarding the wonderful 1098-T:
“1098-Ts are unreliable, as each university seems to treat them differently. It’s so bad that this year the IRS has instructed volunteer preparers to basically ignore them except for the institution’s EIN and the ‘at least half-time’ and ‘graduate student’ checkboxes.”
https://www.reddit.com/r/tax/comments/5rueod/1098t_accuracy/
I’m glad you got it all figured out
And yes the 1098T reporting can be different from school to school.
I like the way Pitt reports two semesters of aid and two of charges for the same year. Helps me maximize the AOTC.
The 2015 and 2016 1098T from Pitt have been accurate for us.