<p>I've been searching for a definite answer to this all over the internet, but no luck. I'm sorry if I'm repeating the question!</p>
<p>So here's the scoop.</p>
<p>I graduated college last June, and I was on a full ride every year. TurboTax must have changed their system or something, because all the previous years I don't recall having to enter my 1098t form at all (my parents claim me as a dependent). So I'm typing in the numbers trying to estimate the refund I'm going to get this year. As soon as I enter amounts from my 2013 1098t, I suddenly owe IRS about $4000 in taxes!</p>
<p>Now, I went through the 1098t forms from 2009, and the numbers check out - all the scholarship $ I got is there, and so are the tuition charges for 4 years. Problem is that tuition appears on the 1098t for the school year, and scholarship for the calendar year.</p>
<p>So we're looking at the following numbers:
2009 - 37K tuition, 25K finaid
2010 - 39K tuition, 50K finaid
2011 - 40K tuition, 54K finaid
2012 - 42K tuition, 55K finaid
2013 - no tuition, 25K finaid </p>
<p>TurboTax thinks this $25K is income and wants me to pay taxes on it.</p>
<p>But this is the first time I'm dealing with having to enter a 1098t.....and in 2009 I was filing as a nonresident alien, so 1098t never came up either.</p>
<p>Have any of you had this issue? What do I do? </p>
<p>Should I choose the option "I was not a student in 2013", because the tuition has already been accounted for on the 2012 form? It seems like the best strategy.</p>
<p>You should have been filing taxes in prior years as scholarships in excess of qualified education expenses are taxable to you. If you were a dependent on your parents taxes, you should have filed if your taxable income was in excess of the standard deduction for a single person.</p>
<p>For 2013, put the amount of tuition that was paid in 2013 and the amount of scholarship received. The difference will be taxable to you. As long as you can show the dates payments were made (in the event of an audit), it should not be a problem that the 1098 timing is off. (it quite often is).</p>
<p>Swimcatsmom - thanks so much! This explains things. This also explains the fact that when I entered actual tuition paid in 2013 (like you suggested), I went from having taxes due to a refund, but it was much smaller than before. It seemed sketchy though, since on the 1098t it says “THIS IS REPORTED TO THE IRS blah blah blah”.</p>
<p>I’m an international student, and I’ve been issued form 1042-S every year, which states that scholarships in excess of education expenses are not taxable for foreign persons (or something like that). I’m waiting for that form to arrive, they are being mailed out mid-February. There’s much confusion, because payroll is convinced I’m not eligible for this form as a resident alien for tax purposes, but the school issues it anyway since I’m an international student. The IRS hasn’t complained and even let me amend my return once when I forgot about this form.</p>
<p>Anyway, I hope I can reconcile all this… In any case, a tiny refund is better than no refund at all :D</p>
<p>Do you guys think I can get away with entering income from 1042S and ignoring 1098t altogether? They pretty much say the same thing, except 1042S negates 1098t by saying difference is not taxable.</p>
<p>Or should I still enter the 1098t? I heard some schools don’t even give it to students, and I haven’t been filing it, ever.</p>
<p>4kidsdad - I file as a resident alien. I filed as a nonresident alien in 2009 (my freshman year), and was issued a 1042S. After that I informed the school that my status changed to resident alien, payroll told me that I should not be receiving a 1042S (Google said I should ask for a 1099-MISC instead, but payroll refused), but issued it anyway. I have been including 1042S with my return every year and getting a refund - I file by mail, because, like you said, TurboTax can’t handle nonresident alien tax forms.</p>
<p>I quote from the 2009 return concerning the 1042S (back when CINTAX existed): “From the taxable portion of my non-service scholarship or fellowship grant(s) listed above, I used the following amounts to purchase non-taxable/deductible items under Section 117” blah blah blah, I get tax back.</p>
<p>I think I’m going to put down the actual tuition paid in 2013, scholarship received from 1098t (since I don’t think I can get away with just not entering it…) and taxes withheld on 1042S in “Miscellaneous Taxes”. Seems logical?</p>
<p>About the treaty - I don’t really know how it works, and never did it. Seemed like I was already getting reduced tax because section 117.</p>
<p>If you were actually a resident alien since 2010, I calculate you received excess aid to the tune of $63K. Yikes! If I read things correctly, this may all be taxable?</p>
If you’re holding F, J, M, or Q Visa, you should be filing as nonresident alien for first 5 calendar years.
It may work if you’re resident alien. But are you? You should really discuss your taxes with a tax person You may need to file correct Federal and State Income tax returns to remain in compliance with US Immigration laws.</p>
<p>4kidsdad - I’ve been in the US since 2006 (first on F2), so when filing for 2010 nonresident alien software kicked me out based on “number of days present in the country” Thanks for your concern!</p>
<p>collegeparents - haha, thanks for the advice! A lot of that “excess aid” was spent on room and board, medical insurance, whatever fees - a full ride is always itemized, so I didn’t get more than I was expected to spend. Sure, a lot of it is probably taxable, but for whatever reason the forms always worked out. Taxes are so weird.</p>
<p>Anyway, thanks so much for your help, guys! I think I’m all set now :)</p>
<p>“Unless you have a green card, you’re not a resident alien.”</p>
<p>Not necessarily so. One can be a resident for tax purposes, without being a legal permanent resident alien (green card status). BeyondReality needs to go sit down with a tax accountant who knows about tax residency issues for international students. Chances are that the international students office can recommend someone.</p>
<p>happymom, that’s why I posted the link to the topic that discusses Resident vs Non Resident Aliens. The OP said that he determined that he was a non-resident alien based on the substantial presence test but the IRS considers students here on a student visa to be exempt individuals whose days in the US do not count toward the substantial presence test.</p>
<p>If I misunderstood the OP’s situation, then the above may not apply. He hasn’t fully explained why he believes that his status has changed from NRA to RA.</p>
<p>I’ve just been looking at tax issues with one of my Adult ESL students who is in the US with an A2, has a work permit, and has contractor income in the US reported with a 1099. After two days of digging through the IRS website, a visit to the local IRS office, and multiple calls to the IRS help number, I finally convinced her to ask at the consulate her husband is technically attached to here in DC. </p>
<p>For BeyondRealigy, the first stop should be the International Students Office. If they hand out this kind of aid every year, they should know what to do about the tax situation. If they don’t, it is time they learned. The university that awarded the scholarships surely has a tax lawyer or accountant who can help find the appropriate information. </p>
<p>Thank you, spoon. I missed the part about the OP being here since 2006 – I was thinking that he first got here in 2009 when he entered college. I knew about the 5 calendar year issue but must have overlooked his relevant post. </p>
Thanks for your concern!</p>