Amend Already Accepted Tax Return with Form 1098-T?

[Bubi06]

Dear Intuit Customer Service,

I am reaching out regarding an interesting situation I have ended up in. I completed filing my taxes a month ago and all of my forms (federal and state) were approved. I received the entire refund as well.

Today, I received Form 1098-T in the mail from my school. The amount in the tuition paid box (Box 1) does not exceed the amount in the scholarships/grants box (Box 5) on the form. On my tax forms from a month ago, I did not claim any student credits since in 2023, I was an international student; more specifically, a resident alien. It is important to know that I am not a dependent.

Could you please tell me if I should amend my taxes and refile them?

Thank you for the help in advance and I am looking forward to hearing from you soon!

[rjs · Accepted solution]

You said the tuition in box 1 of your 1098-T is not more than the scholarship in box 5, but you didn't say whether box 1 is same as box 5 or less than box 5. If the amounts in box 1 and box 5 are the same, there is no need to amend your tax return. If box 1 is less than box 5, the amount by which the scholarship exceeds the tuition is taxable income, so you have to amend your tax return.

You do not "refile" your tax return. Amending means filing a special form, Form 1040-X, to make changes to a tax return that you already filed. See the following FAQ for instructions to amend a tax return that you filed with TurboTax. (It says "prior year" but it also works for the current year.)

How do I amend my federal tax return for a prior year?

Before you start to amend your return in TurboTax Online, be sure to download a PDF of your original tax return and save it on your own computer. Once you amend it, you will no longer be able to access the original in TurboTax.

The IRS says it is currently taking 20 weeks or more to process an amended return.

In the future, wait until you have all your tax forms before you file your tax return. You will get a 1098-T for any year that you paid tuition, even if the entire tuition was covered by a scholarship.

I am not an Intuit employee.

[Bubi06]

RJS,

Thank you very much for your help and clarification! I apologize, I wanted to write that the amount I have in Box 1 (paid tuition) is more than the amount in Box 5 (scholarship). Just to verify, because my scholarship is smaller than my tuition, I don’t have to amend my tax return?

As I mentioned in my initial post, I was an international student last year. I still don’t understand why my school is sending me Form 1098-T based on my legal status in the United States. I did not expect this form and this is why I filed my taxes early (the school is also supposed to send any tax forms by January 31st I believe, and I don’t understand why it just arrived).

[loveat3190]

Hi. I just filed my taxes and had to add the same to mine. I don't think you have to amend but you will most likely lose out on education credits you can claim. I think my refund wad about 100 more with it. 

[rjs]

---

@Bubi06 wrote:

Just to verify, because my scholarship is smaller than my tuition, I don’t have to amend my tax return?

@Bubi06 

Since the tuition in box 1 of your 1098 is more than the scholarship in box 5, you are not required to amend your tax return. However, as loveat3190 pointed out, you are probably entitled to a tax credit for the amount of tuition that was not covered by the scholarship. The only way to claim the credit is to file an amended return.

---

@Bubi06 wrote:

I was an international student last year. I still don’t understand why my school is sending me Form 1098-T based on my legal status in the United States.

---

You said you were a resident alien. For income tax purposes a resident alien is treated the same as a U.S. citizen.

If you were not a resident alien for the entire year you would not be entitled to an education credit.