Guide · Your situation
School comes with its own tax rules: education credits that can be worth real money, forms from your school, and the question of whether you or your parents claim you. This guide explains how it all fits together, whether you're filing for the first time or your family is paying tuition.
If you're a full-time student under 24 and your parents support you, they can usually claim you as a dependent. That matters because the education credits generally go to whoever claims you. If you're a dependent, you can still file your own return to get back tax withheld from a job, but you'll check the box saying someone can claim you.
Many students don't earn enough to be required to file. But if tax was withheld from your paychecks, filing is the only way to get it back. Your W-2 from a campus or part-time job works the same as any other; see the W-2 guide on this site.
Your school sends Form 1098-T showing tuition paid and scholarships or grants received. It's the starting point for education credits. The numbers don't always match what was actually paid during the calendar year, so check them against your own records and student account.
The American opportunity tax credit is worth up to $2,500 per eligible student for the first four years of college, and part of it can be refunded even if no tax is owed. The lifetime learning credit is worth up to $2,000 per return and can cover graduate school, extra courses and job-skill classes. You can't take both for the same student in the same year, and both phase out at higher incomes.
Scholarships and grants used for tuition, fees, books and required supplies are generally tax-free. The part used for room, board or travel is generally taxable income. A scholarship that pays you for teaching or research work is also taxable.
Once you start paying back student loans, you may be able to deduct up to $2,500 of the interest each year as an adjustment to income, even if you don't itemize. Your loan servicer sends Form 1098-E showing the interest you paid. The deduction phases out at higher incomes.
This page was written from the sources below. Official sources are from the IRS or another government body; secondary sources are tax publications used to cross-check new rules. Tax law changes, so always confirm with the official source for the year you're filing.