Confused by the question, "did your aid include amounts not awarded for 2018 expenses"

[arodr051]

in my 2018 1098T my school reported me as paying 4667 in tuition for 2018 and me as receiving 9,067 in scholarships and grants for 2018. Problem seems to be that the tuition was billed in 2017 so the school included it in box#2 of my 2017 1098T, thus what should i put in the question that is prompted on turbotax? Should I include the tuition that i actually paid in 2018? I contacted the school and they state that they cannot change my 1098T form because they already included it as billed in 2017. Please Help!

[KittyM · Accepted solution]

Yes, you will enter the amounts you actually paid to the school in 2018 - not the amounts they billed.  The education credit is based on actual payments, whether through scholarships, grants, student loans, or your own funds. Only the amounts you actually paid (not the amounts billed) qualify for the credit.

Enter your 1098-T exactly as you see it on the form. If either box 1 or 2 does not reflect your total tuition expense, select What if this is not what I paid to this school? below box 2 to enter the correct amount

If your grants and scholarships exceed your actual tuition paid will you have taxable scholarship income.

[arodr051]

If i include the amount that I actually paid in 2018 even though one semester of tuition was billed in 2017 and included in the 2017 1098T as being billed. Do i need to go back and amend my 2017 tax return?

[KittyM]

It depends.  If you accidentally included the 2017 tuition that wasn't paid until 2018, then you would need to amend your 2017 return.  The credit has always been based on the amounts paid, but the reporting from the schools was not often set up this way.

[arodr051]

I did not include the 2017 tuition as an amount paid in my 2017 return. It was simply included in my 1098T (in box#2) as an amount that was billed to me.