<p>I am pretty sure it is for each year. Otherwise it would be less than the current $1800 for the Hope credit.</p>
<p>Ok let me get this straight, if I receive scholarships that exceed the amount of tuition, fees and books, then I still do not receive ANY of these credits. Right?</p>
<p>for colleges that have a comprehensive fee tuition/room and board. Say I
pay 4,000 towards the bill and the rest is covered by grants, student loans
etc can I claim the credit?</p>
<p>Very confusing, isn't it? We have taken the Hope Credit & the Lifetime Learning for two students in one year. As I recall Lifetime Learning Credit is PER FAMILY, not per student.
I work for a CPA during the tax season. So with the Lifetime Learning Credit, you couldn't take it for a dependent student & a parent taking college courses or for two dependent students. The Tuition & Fees Deduction has been extended for a couple of years now. I would like to see how this all plays out, as we will have two in college, starting with the 2010-2011 academic year. (a 3 year overlap)</p>
<p>bbhill...
It depends. Many colleges will award grant money and not specify whether it is to used for tuition, room and board, or other expenses. If so, you can apportion the grant money between tuition and other expenses the way you want for tax purposes. This may have the effect of making more of the grant taxable, but pay off because it qualifies you for the credit.
Example. $50,000 total cost of attendance, $34,000 tuition, $36,000 grant. Under the $2500 tax credit, for example, you might decide that $30,000 of the grant was for tuition, $6000 for other expenses. In this case you would have to declare $36,000 minus $30,000 as income. So $6000 of the grant becomes taxable rather than $2000. But you would have apportioned $4000 ($34K-$30K) as money you paid for tuition and qualified for the $2500 credit.
I've done this with 2 kids so far, and I think swimcatsmom has done something similar.</p>
<p>To add detail to the above, my student daughter would show the $6000 as income on her tax return and use the standard deduction. We would declare her as our dependent on our return and claim the credit.</p>
<p>Ok, so let me get this straight.</p>
<p>Box 1 on 1098T: $2084
Box 2: $0
Box 5: $8840 (in reality this is closer to 15000 since there were scholarships not listed here for some reason)</p>
<p>So since none of those scholarships were listed as only tuition and fees, are you saying that I could theoretically change box 5 to zero on the parents return? and just report all of the scholarships as pure income on my tax return and not even subtract the fees on my own tax return? Wouldn't that be an IRS red flag if my parents tax numbers dont reflect the 1098t form that is sent in? I understand what you are saying tho. I could "claim" that my parents paid those eligible expenses and I could say that I blew all my scholarship money on food, room, and other expenses.</p>
<p>EDIT: My mother is already getting a rebate this year, so having the tuition and fees deduction on her thing would do no good. . . So, I don't believe this would do any good. . .</p>
<p>I hope it becomes clearer.</p>
<p>You might be interested in this piece I wrote explaining the pros and cons of the education tax credit and other education provisions in the stimulus bill:
<a href="http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/2009/02/12/how-the-stimulus-helps-you-pay-for-college.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/2009/02/12/how-the-stimulus-helps-you-pay-for-college.html</a>
Thanks,</p>
<p>I'd like further clarification re: taking the credit even though the qualified expenses are fully covered by grants or scholarships. Anyone have a source on this?</p>
<p>Most of the grants/scholarships my kids have do not specify that they have to be used for tuition and fees. As far as I can tell from reading IRS 970, if a scholarship/grant does not specify that it must be used for tuition and fees you can choose what you use it for. We have found it is more beneficial to elect to use a scholarship for non qualified expenses such as room and board. That makes that portion of the scholarship taxable but makes the payment for tuition and fees (from loans) eligible for the tax credit. For us the credit is more beneficial than saving the tax on the scholarship. </p>
<p>The new credit rules also make the cost of required books and supplies eligible for the credit.</p>
<p>OK, I read all of this and am still confused as to our particular situation. Our son took a long time getting an A.A. degree. Now, at age 24, he is in a "regular" higher-ed institution. We can no longer claim him as a dependent on our Federal income taxes, but we still are paying for his education. He earned a reported income in 2008 of just a little over $200. We continue to pay his tuition and expenses. I am about to use my HR Block Tax program to file his return. </p>
<p>IS HE SOMEHOW ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE SOME SORT OF FUTURE CREDIT based on the new stimulus and tax code rules?</p>
<p>Sorry to be dense, but I have tried to wade through all this info. I find our situation is a bit different than most folks'.</p>
<p>Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>
[quote]
it also allows required books and supplies to be claimed as education expenses.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This past year I have had my son pay for his books while my contribution to his education was toward tuition in anticipation of taking a Hope credit. Since I may not have $4000 in tuition expenses for 2009 it looks like it will be beneficial for me to start buying his books. There's still plenty of other stuff he can pay for.</p>
<p>Curently for the Hope if he is your dependent you are considered to have paid for tuition and fees if he pays for them. I am guessing it will be the same for books next year.</p>
<p>from IRS 970
[quote]
Note. Qualified education expenses paid by a dependent for whom you claim an exemption, or by a third party for that dependent, are considered paid by you.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>standrews, I also paid $2400 for tuition this year and had child use her 529 to cover other expenses, and took the $1800 credit. Since the new credit is 100% of the first $2000, and only 25% of the second $2000 paid, I intend to only pay $2000 toward her tuition in 2009 and take the $2000 credit. You don't have to have the whole $4000 in tuition expenses to get a major benefit of the new credit.</p>
<p>Swimcatsmom…
So basically if on the 1098-T the amount in box 5 (scholarships ) can be used towards room+board/tuition?
Does it matter whether the college directly applies the scholarship to the tuition bill and the only bills us for the R+B. It will be great if it can be assigned a ‘tax smart’ way</p>
<p>Also… any idea how the institutional EFC views education credits? I am working on the Princeton FinAid app and they ask if there was an education credit received last year. Wondering if it is better to take the credit or not</p>