Room and Board

My DS has a 4 year AROTC scholarship to Baylor. Baylor has generous merit scholarships which can be used towards room and board while having the army pick up the tuition tab. I confirmed this both with the Baylor ROO and the Baylor financial aid department before making Baylor my DS's #1 choice. Great school at almost no cost is a great deal! The merit scholarship is easily determined on the Baylor financial aid website using SAT scores, GPA, and class standing. Go Bears!
 
University of Vermont pays the room and board for any scholarship cadets. (Army ROTC)
 
FYI: If the school pays room and board, they usually report it as scholarship on the 1098-T in block 5. If you or your child is a full scholarship contracted student, you won't have anything listed in Block 1 (Payments rcvd for tuition) or Block 2 (amounts billed for qualified tuition). You or your child could end up having to pay tax on benefits. It would be reported in the wages line item with a side note denoting the amount and that it is scholarship. It would be considered unearned income and subject to the parent's income tax rate if the child is claimed by the parent. The threshold changes each year...around $6,000 for tax year 2014 if single and claimed as a dependent by their parent(s).
 
Michael G. said:
FYI: If the school pays room and board, they usually report it as scholarship on the 1098-T in block 5. If you or your child is a full scholarship contracted student, you won't have anything listed in Block 1 (Payments rcvd for tuition) or Block 2 (amounts billed for qualified tuition). You or your child could end up having to pay tax on benefits. It would be reported in the wages line item with a side note denoting the amount and that it is scholarship. It would be considered unearned income and subject to the parent's income tax rate if the child is claimed by the parent. The threshold changes each year...around $6,000 for tax year 2014 if single and claimed as a dependent by their parent(s).
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We just got done with DD's taxes dealing with scholarships that were used for room and board. She owed $1515 in income taxes on the scholarship income.
 
"We just got done with DD's taxes dealing with scholarships that were used for room and board. She owed $1515 in income taxes on the scholarship income."

That is just wrong, and I know I have vented on this issue on another thread but I still believe it is just misguided government tax policy. Your daughter worked hard academically (for which she probably sacrificed other enjoyments) and was rewarded by university with merit scholarship, and by military with ROTC. If our country really wants to acknowledge and reward students for academic success then do not tax their scholarship if used for room and board. There should be a tax credit for the hard work put in, and will most likely benefit the country later when he or she is vocationally successful and paying higher taxes on earnings. I know everyone has to live and eat somewhere, and others without scholarships have to pay taxes on their earnings. But it is hypocrisy for leaders to talk about encouraging youth to achieve academic success while doing nothing to assist middle class, and in fact allowing policies in place that hurt even more. I will put away soap box now.
 
Wilco said:
"We just got done with DD's taxes dealing with scholarships that were used for room and board. She owed $1515 in income taxes on the scholarship income."

That is just wrong, and I know I have vented on this issue on another thread but I still believe it is just misguided government tax policy. Your daughter worked hard academically (for which she probably sacrificed other enjoyments) and was rewarded by university with merit scholarship, and by military with ROTC. If our country really wants to acknowledge and reward students for academic success then do not tax their scholarship if used for room and board. There should be a tax credit for the hard work put in, and will most likely benefit the country later when he or she is vocationally successful and paying higher taxes on earnings. I know everyone has to live and eat somewhere, and others without scholarships have to pay taxes on their earnings. But it is hypocrisy for leaders to talk about encouraging youth to achieve academic success while doing nothing to assist middle class, and in fact allowing policies in place that hurt even more. I will put away soap box now.
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There is an easy fix...Congress can merely write a law to exclude the income if it's associated with ROTC. The Internal Revenue Code section 61 states that all income is taxable unless excluded by the statute. So just exclude it like they do for things like various drugs manufactured in Puerto Rico. However, the students that it affects don't have the money to lobby for the change.
 
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USMAROTCFamily said:
We just got done with DD's taxes dealing with scholarships that were used for room and board. She owed $1515 in income taxes on the scholarship income.
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Sorry....I'm sure it was something that snuck up on you too and that you never expected to have to pay tax on a scholarship. Thats why I wanted to mention it in this forum.
 
Michael G. said:
Sorry....I'm sure it was something that snuck up on you too and that you never expected to have to pay tax on a scholarship. Thats why I wanted to mention it in this forum.
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I knew it was going to be taxed. It was a bit higher than I thought it would be due to the Kiddie Tax rules. This year, we won't be able to claim her as a dependent, so she most likely won't owe any taxes on the scholarships, but our personal taxes will be higher since we lose her exemption. The joy of taxes.
 
USMAROTCFamily said:
I knew it was going to be taxed. It was a bit higher than I thought it would be due to the Kiddie Tax rules. This year, we won't be able to claim her as a dependent, so she most likely won't owe any taxes on the scholarships, but our personal taxes will be higher since we lose her exemption. The joy of taxes.
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Never thought of this question - can we continue to claim a DD or DA as a dependent when they attend a SA? I guess the question is also applicable to any student who has a full ride in college regardless of the form it takes - parents are presumably not providing the majority of their upkeep in that case, so can they claim them as a dependent and get the exemption?
 
Carnegie Mellon University recently announced that starting this year, they will pay $8,000 towards room and board for their NROTC scholarship winners. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology also pays all room and board expenses for its AROTC scholarship winners.
 
Is there any place we can see a Full updates list of what Colleges offer for Army ROTC 3 and 4 year winners?

Thanks.
 
I'm unaware of any list that is properly maintained, and doing so is beyond our resources here. To the best of my knowledge, Army doesn't even bother to keep track.
 
RPI Awards a $14,500 scholarship for room and board to 3 and 4 year winners. They even give it to the Freshman 3year AD winners.
 
Army ROTC Scholarships University of San Francisco

The Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps offers scholarships for active duty, National Guard Reserve and nursing.

Army ROTC offers four, three and two-year scholarships. Currently, these scholarships pay full tuition costs as well as a flat rate of $1,200 annually for textbooks and supplies. Each scholarship includes a stipend of $300-$500 for 10 months per year, during each year that the scholarship is in effect. The allowance is $300 per month for freshmen, $350 per month for sophomores, $450 per month for juniors, $500 per month for seniors. Additionally, USF currently provides room and board grants for ROTC scholarship cadets.
 
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