<p>On my 1098t, my "Amounts billed for qualified expenses" is $7971, and my scholarships awarded are $14006, supposedly leaving me with $6035 in taxable income. And I made about $160 over the summer in earned income. However, my school only counts tuition as a qualified expense. I've spent at least $300 on books and at least $3000 on "supplies". </p>
<p>So how exactly would I prove that my expenses were qualified? And if I did, it would be lower than the $5800 cutoff required for a dependent to file a tax return...would I have to file a tax return? I filed a 1040EZ last year as a senior in high school, even though I didn't need to.</p>
<p>The books are no problem, they are considered qualified educational expenses if they were required for your classes. I don’t think supplies qualify unless they were required for a class (eg. for art class), but not normal supplies like pens and notebooks. Please, someone correct me if this is wrong.</p>
<p>Wow, that’s a lot for supplies! What are you including in that?</p>
<p>Thanks, entomom. I’m new to tax returns…do I have to prove to the IRS that I bought required books with that scholarship money? Because I bought all of them through people on Craigslist. </p>
<p>I might have taken a few liberties with “supplies”…I don’t think my laptop counts. :)</p>
<p>The supplies have to be *required *by everyone in a class. When I look at my daughter’s expenses I only include things that are specifically required - for instance a book that is required for the class. I would not include, for instance, a book that she buys because it is a helpful reference. </p>
<p>Oh ok. Thanks for the clarification swimcatsmom. I thought it meant what I would be using for college, like laptop, bike, etc. Then my supplies would be more like $200.</p>
<p>I always have my kid give me the receipts for her book purchases just in case we’re audited. You should definitely try to get some sort of proof of purchase from the person you buy them from, handwritten if nothing else.</p>
<p>Look at the breakdown of your FA award and the school’s COA (it’s a good idea for you or your parents to keep all of that stuff in one folder, for times like these - some of it may be available online)</p>
<p>Is the $7971, the “amount billed for qualified expenses” for one semester (or quarter) or two (or perhaps 3 quarters, if you are a sophomore or above)?</p>
<p>Sometimes scholarships are listed on the 1098T for <em>this</em> year, when they are for a term beginning <em>next</em> year (January). Look at your FA award sheet - is $14006 of scholarship/grant money for one semester or two?</p>
<p>If the 1098T is showing one semester’s worth of tuition and fees (mandatory fees required of ALL students as a condition of enrollment, with the exception of student health service fees, are qualified expenses) and TWO semester’s worth of grants, then you do not have taxable scholarship income.</p>
<p>The 1098Ts are notoriously unreliable. It’s important to use the numbers from your FA award, the school’s COA, and the actual amount of the checks you or parents wrote to the school (the amount of loans you received that went toward eligible expenses counts as well - it is considered “money that you paid”, even if the loan funds were disbursed directly to the school.)
Also, the 1098T will virtually never include the amounts you spent on REQUIRED books and supplies - again, you have to rely on YOUR records and receipts here.</p>
<p>I checked the numbers on my 1098T, and they check out. The $7971 is for two quarters of “registration fees” (no tuition for in state students), and the $14006 is for two quarters of financial aid. I did not take any loans.</p>
<p>Double-check the regulations about the computer purchase too. Sometimes it can be claimed as a school expense, and sometimes it can’t. Your brain might almost melt down in the process, but the answers can be found in the IRS Publication 970 available at [Internal</a> Revenue Service](<a href=“http://www.irs.gov%5DInternal”>http://www.irs.gov) as an HTML or PDF document. Since the regulations for the various deduction and credit options can change from year to year, you will need to re-check again each year that you can claim one or the other. I like to print out the PDF so I can mark it up with highliters, and so I can make notes about why I did what I did with that year’s tax return.</p>
<p>Unless there has been some change that I have not heard of (the 2010 IRS 970 is not out yet), the only current education tax break for computer purchases is that a computer and some related expenses are qualified expenses for 529 account withdrawals. For a computer to be a qualified expenses for non taxability of scholarship/grant it would have to be required by the school or program.</p>
<p>And if the computer purchase is clearly a requirement for admission to the school and program, does this then qualify as an education deduction?</p>
<p>Pianomom, if the student is required by the school to own a computer then it would be acceptable, however, most schools provide access to school owned computers, printers and software. You can’t claim that the computer is a requirement if it is simply more convenient to have one to tote around and have in a dorm room.</p>
<p>My son is a Euphonium performance major at his school. In order for him to attend he must own a euphonium. The school will not provide one for him to use to complete his major. Last January we bought him a new euph when his euph crapped out. Since he is required to own his instrument it qualifies as a legitimate expense.</p>