We are a full pay family with a 529 (held in parent name). We anticipate that we will be covering all college expenses ourselves. If our child is lucky enough to receive a merit award of more than $12K per year and spends it on tuition- will our child owe taxes on the Merit $$$'s?
What if the Merit $$$'s is spent on room/board, books, etc. Would the Merit be treated differently from a tax perspective?
I apologize if this question has been posed in another forum- thanks to all who share their wisdom on CC.
Merit aid (which is really just a reduction in tuition payable to the college), is normally tax free. However, no one other than a CPA should give tax advice, and I’m not a CPA. Consult your accountant.
Scholarship or grant money used toward tuition (and other qualified expenses) is tax-free. If the scholarship is unrestricted, and used for other expenses (toom & board, transportation, etc) it is taxable, and generally considered to be unearned income. It would not fall within the $12,000 standard deduction, because a dependent calculates the standard deduction based on earned income. Thus it would be taxable, and unfortunately would fall under the “kiddie tax” rules.
There are multiple definitions of “qualifying expenses” depending on the source of money (529, dependency, tuition credits, etc). Most of this is spelled out pretty well in Publication 970, but if you have any doubts, consult a tax preparer or a CPA that is familiar with tax law - and who is up to date on the changes for tax year 2018. Not all CPAs focus on taxes, and Enrolled Agent (tax preparer certified by the IRS) is likely to be your best bet.
Wrong. When calculating the standard deduction for a dependent, a taxable scholarship or fellowship grant is considered earned income. See the note at the bottom of table 20-3 on page 144 of IRS pub. 17.