If you forgot to enter your 1098-T and are not going to claim the education credit AND did not have taxable scholarship income (scholarships that exceeded the tuition paid) you do not have to amend your tax return. Keep a copy of it with your tax records for at least three years.
On my 1098-t form it says my scholarships exceeded my tuition but the amount listed on the form is less than i was actually charged, do I still need to amend it?
No, but be sure to keep the additional expenses records just in case of audit- even if you enter the 1098-T you would also enter the charges so you would not have a change in tax regardless so no need to amend.
Can I use a 1098-T that I forgot to use the year before on the next year's tax return?
Unfortunately, no. You will need to amend the prior year return to add the 1098-T. Keep in mind: You have 3 years from the date you filed your 2018 return (or 2 years after you paid the tax due, whichever is later) to file an amended return.
What if I didn't receive my 1098-T form until after I did my taxes?
I did not receive any scholarships/grants, however I did pay out of pocket for my schooling. Will this increase my state return amount?
It depends.
If your return has not been accepted yet, you will have to wait for that to happen.
If your return has been accepted, you will have to file an amended return.
Please note Form 1040X for the amended returns is not scheduled to be released until February 12, 2020. You will have to wait until this date has passed to amend your return.
Attached are instructions on how to prepare an amended return.
You will enter your 1098-T information as follows:
Follow-up question: My son put the 1098-T on his form even though he could not claim it and did not get a credit. I did not put it on my tax form even though I should have and could claim it. Do we both need to file amended returns?
Yes, I would amend yours to claim the credit. Since he was not able to claim it, his will not need to be amended.
See this TurboTax FAQ for help with amending.
I've filed my taxes without the 1098-t form because the school hadn't sent it yet. I just received the form in the mail but the IRS has already received my taxes. Will it be accepted as is ? Will this slow down the processing time ? Do I need to amend ? I noticed the school actually reported my tuition at a higher cost than what I actually paid, however I only put what I paid out of pocket on my taxes minus any grants etc.
If there were not taxable scholarships or grants, you do not have to amend.
If Box 5 is more than your tuition, it may be treated as taxable income and you should amend to avoid any penalties or interest that might be calculated on an underpayment or excess refund.
However, if you didn't claim any education credits because you didn't have the 1098T when you filed, you should amend if you want to see if you qualify for any additional credits or deductions.
I am including some information on Amending your returns as well as more details about Education Credits for which you might qualify.
Available Education Credits Education Credits
Tuition and Fees Deduction Tuition and Fees Deduction
How do I amend my return? How do I Amend my Tax Return?
Just to clarify, because I did claim education credits and qualified, but I did it by personal records not by the 1098-T because I didn't have it at the time I filed. Although what ive reported was less than what my school tuition actually was, would this cause an issue with approval to issue refund?
No, if you did the math in your head, and you did it right, the credit will be issued.
If you went light on the tuition expense, and you were still eligible for the full credit, the additional tuition would not matter if you had nothing more to match it to.
So box 5 which is the scholarships and grants has exceeded student tuition. So do that mean I have to report it on my taxes.
Yeah, you report it under deductions and credit which you can click from the "Tax Home" button on TurboTax, in this section, it will ask if you have included it in your income already and you choose if you did or did not. So you probably say NO to that.
As long as box 5 is lower then box 1, we do not need to amend?
@Sburtulato Correct, if Tuition Paid is larger than Scholarships/Grants, you probably don't need to Amend your return.
The Education Credit is to help you with 'out of pocket' Education Expenses you paid. TurboTax would consider the difference between Box 5 and Box 1 to be what you paid, plus any Other Education Expenses you added.
Click this link for info on Do I Need to Amend?
My 1098T has box 5 for scholarships and it is more than box 1. Does that mean I would have to file and amendment if I forgot to add this form?
Yes, you need to amend to add. When you have received more scholarship than tuition paid, you would need to pay taxes on the difference. If you have already filed, you will have to wait until Feb 12 when the IRS opens the gate. You cannot return to the program to make any changes before that.
If your return got rejected for whatever reasons, you can return to the program to make the correction along with other changes. You do not need an amendment 1040-X.
If your return has been accepted, you will have to amend your return by filing a form 1040X. You should not try to amend your return until it has been fully processed and you have received your refund or your payment has cleared.
Beginning with the 2019 tax year, you can e-file amended tax returns. If you used TurboTax to prepare Form 1040-X, follow the software's instructions to e-file the amendment.
To see how to amend your taxes, click here:
I forgot to file my 1098-T in both 2018 and 2019 and I did not take the AOTC either year. I was working on an amended return and it said I had a taxable event in 2018 of $1532 ("based on the educational expenses you entered, the student beneficiary must report $1532 of taxable income from this distribution") and 2019 of $8721 ("based on the educational expenses you entered, the student beneficiary must report $8721 of taxable income from this distribution"). It looks like I will receive a $2500 refund both years but I will have to file an amended return for my son in both years (he did not pay any taxes in either year...2018 - $2 dividend income only and 2019 - $1271 AGI). Because of his low income, will there be a penalty for filing an amended return for him, and would it be worth it to file amended returns for me and get the $2500 refund each year? Additionally, all payments from the 529 plan were made directly to the University for tuition related expenses. Thank you for your help
You are correct to file amended returns so that you can claim the $2,500 for each year and also correct to amend your son's returns. Any penalties for those relatively low amounts of income will be low and may be completely forgiven. When you file the returns a screen will come up asking questions to see if the penalty will be forgiven.
I apologize but I have one last clarification. My wife and I are the owners of the 529 plan and my son in the beneficiary. All payments were made directly to the University for qualified educational expenses. Does that change how I amend my return and my son's return in 2018 and 2019? When I input both the 1098-T and 1099-Q on my amended return, I received the "tax due" amounts for each year listed above (which you said to add to my son's return). As I read further into this rabbit hole, I'm wondering if I am even filing correctly. Thank you again for your help,