4,670 of the 9,370 I received on my 1098-T for 2019 was for classes I took in 2018 but my employer did not pay the school until January of 2019. Is that amount for 2018?

[MaryK4]

Was your tuition reported in Box 1 or 2?

@ashantaereturn

[ashantaereturn]

The amount in box 1 and box 5 is 9,370. I was a half time student pursuing at graduate degree.  

[BarbaraW22]

The amount reported in Box 1 of Form 1098-T may include qualified tuition and related expenses from a prior year. The amount reported in Box 1 represents the total amount of payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses from all sources during the calendar year. Per the IRS Instructions for Form 1098-T, Box 1 may include a payment of past-due qualified tuition or related expenses from a previous calendar year, but only if the educational institution previously billed the student for such amounts.

In order to confirm if the 2018 payment is included in Box 1, you will need to contact the educational institution. 

It is important to note that you may only take an education deduction or credit on your tax return for qualified education expenses paid in 2019 that are for an academic period beginning in 2019 or beginning in the first 3 months of 2020.

Please see IRS Publication 970 (page 13) for more information.

@ashantaereturn

[ashantaereturn]

$4,670 of the amount in box 1 is for classes taken in the 2018 academic year but paid for in January of 2019. So do I need to amend my 2018 tax returns in order to claim that 4,670? 

Then for this years tax return do I only include $4,700 ($9,370-$4,670 = $4,700) because that was the tuition that was paid for classes taken during the 2019 academic year?

[MarilynG1]

It sounds like your Employer paid for your Tuition.  If that is the case, and you had no 'out of pocket' Education Expenses, you don't have to enter your 1098-T into your return; you are not eligible for an Education Credit. 

If not, there is a place to make adjustments when entering the 1098-T.  You can indicate that 'this is not the amount I paid the school' and change the amount to reflect 2019 tuition (screenshot). 

If you claimed an Education Credit in 2018, you may need to Amend your Return.