Students get $1500 back on taxes!!

[sjshaw]

<< Okay, I'm a little confused. So where do we fill out these forms? Do they go with the tax forms our parents will be turning in in a couple months? >>



You get them from the IRS. Yes.



<< Do you actually get the $1500 from the Hope Grant or is that deducted from how much you have to pay. I will be getting about $1000 back from my taxes this year. Will it be $2500 if I apply for the Hope Grant or will it be still only $1000 because I don't owe the government anything on this tax return? >>



See my post below.



<< Any tax experts can help me out here?

Alright, last year my parents claimed me as a dependent, so I didn't bother to file taxes. Although I received about 16k in need based scholarships, cal grants, pell grants.

This year, my parents are NOT going to claim me. So should I file my own taxes, report the scholarship/grant money, and then apply for the Hope and Lifetime refunds? Btw, I don't work, so I don't have a W-2 or anything. Also, this is my 2nd year of college.
>>



You have to file, if the scholarship/grant money is taxable income (maybe, maybe not... I would call the IRS hotline and/or check with an accountant &quot;friend of the family.&quot. If the scholarship money is taxable, and not reported to the IRS already (doubtful), you may be able to &quot;get by&quot; with not filing. That is not my legal advice to you, however.

For everybody, you CAN go to H&amp;R Block or another discount tax preparer, or you can get TaxCut or similar software and do it yourself. Between the program and various tax assistance websites, you should be able to do it yourself.

If anybody has any other questions, email me at imhotep1970@hotmail.com and I will assist you the best I can. I'm just a regular attorney, not a tax lawyer, so you get what you pay for.

 

[kxy]

Thanks for the post, I will let my friends know about this, they can use some money.

 

[Dolemite69]

Way to go SJSHAW! I think RPZERO just got shut down.....

 

[zippimom]

You guys are way off base.... This is a tax credit, up to the amount of tax that you would be paying ....It is not a refundable credit. If you had $3,000 withheld in federal income tax and your tax was going to be $2,000 you would get $1,000 refund. with the credit your refund would be $2,500. But if you only had $1,000 withheld the most your refund can be is $1,000. If you are not claimed as a dependent by your parents then you can claim yourself and get the credit. You and your parents need to work out your taxes both ways to see which way both of you together would pay the IRS the least amount. The other thing that you have to check is if you are covered by your parents health insurance, you could possible cancel your health insurance if they don't claim you.

 

[tkdkid]

hanybanoub - it's not a discount per se...it's the lifetime learning credit. Read the link that barrak provided.

If you save your receipts for books and all educational expenses including whatever you pay for tuition even if you pay with a student loan then you can claim them when you file your taxes. You get back 20%.

I did it last year, it's a really great program.

 

[smartt]

While we are OT for awhile, and most of the tax questions have been cleared up. My biggest opposition with Bush (both of them) would be school vouchers. If there is something wrong with a school, then fix it, don't move just some of the kids out, especially the brightest ones. How does 'dumbing' down a school help? Also, I would love to send my kids to a private school, but I make enough money that I wouldn't qualify but not enough to afford to send my kids to a private school. However, I would be footing the bill for other kids to attend private school or maybe a religous school that is not in line with my beliefs. I don't want to see a kid miss out on proper education, but shuffling kids out of non-performing schools is not the answer. Are we saying that as a government we can't control the schools? I'm in favor of local governments running schools, but maybe they are the ones that should be held accountable when schools fail.

 

[sjshaw]

<< You guys are way off base.... This is a tax credit, up to the amount of tax that you would be paying ....It is not a refundable credit. If you had $3,000 withheld in federal income tax and your tax was going to be $2,000 you would get $1,000 refund. with the credit your refund would be $2,500. But if you only had $1,000 withheld the most your refund can be is $1,000. If you are not claimed as a dependent by your parents then you can claim yourself and get the credit. You and your parents need to work out your taxes both ways to see which way both of you together would pay the IRS the least amount. The other thing that you have to check is if you are covered by your parents health insurance, you could possible cancel your health insurance if they don't claim you >>



The poster is correct. Go here for further information. Here is an excerpt:

What Is It?
The Hope Scholarship is a tax credit, not a scholarship. Tax credits are subtracted from the tax your family owes, instead of subtracting them from taxable income like a tax deduction. Your family must file a federal tax return and owe taxes to get this tax credit. You can't get a refund for the Hope credit if your family doesn't pay taxes. If your family owes less in taxes than the maximum amount of the Hope tax credit for which your family is eligible, you can only take the credit for the amount you owe in taxes.[/i

 

[Barrak]

Basicly the way the Hope Grant works is (if you qualify of course)

If you owe taxes you will not owe as much
If you have paid taxes during the year you will get more of that back.

If you parents claim you as a dependent then They get the benifits Not you.

It was designed for low to mid income students, especialy those who work while going to school. I know it is somewhat confusing, that is why I agree with sjshaw, go to H &amp; R Block or another tax place to have it done. I went to them and it cost $30 but they take care of everything and because I used the Hope Grant Im getting everything I paid during the year in federal taxes

 

[TatSteeL]

thanks, but the problem is i can't do the HOPE Grant because i need to be dependent for my parent. If the 20% back on tuition and books without Hope Grant that'll help me alot, btw I have financial aid and they pay tuition for me can you still claim to get 20% back on tuition?

 

[TurtleMan]

hehe i actually get like $900 back last time i did it

 

[damnjim]

as i understand it, you should be reporting that 16k as income and then using the hope credit to help with the taxes. nothing comes for free...the hope is only good for 2 years so if your parents used it last year, you only have this year left. after that you can use the &quot;lifetime learning credit&quot; which has more limitations

good luck

 

[damnjim]

a DEDUCTION is money that is deducted from your taxes. a CREDIT is money in pocket. if your taxes are less than $1000 and your eligible for $1000 in credit, you've made money (you get the difference as a refund)

 

[ICantAffordIt]

Well technically, a deduction is money reduced from your income to get a basis for the tax you owe. A credit is deducted directly from the tax you owe. Other than with the Earned Income Credit, you won't get money back that you didn't pay.