re: Tax Question - Grad Assitant

Did you receive a 1098-T from the school? It should report amounts she paid as tuition and any scholarships/grants she received. If she got a W-2 from the school that reported all payments to her as taxable, then you should be entitled to claim a deduction for the tuition she paid. That should put you in the same place as if the school treated some of her compensation as non-taxable.