I was a student January - April 2016, and paid for tuition in 2016. My school posted the bill for that semester on the 2015 1098-T form, despite the date of payment. I did not claim any deduction last year. Can I still claim tuition and fees adjustment on my 1040a? Or am I still eligible for the american opportunity credit?
I graduated in April 2016, and my school says it will not provide me with any 1098-T for the 2016 tax year. What can I do? Please any help is appreciated!
Education expenses and other transactions related to education are claimed in the tax year that transaction occurs. It does not matter what tax year that transaction was for.
Great! So when I submit a 8863 or 8917, what information do I need to provide as proof to IRS of 2016 transaction? Will a simple receipt work?
Log into your online college account and get everything you need from the financial details section of your account. PAY ATTENTION TO DATES! This is important. The date you are interested in is the date a transaction was applied. Not the date of the class it was applied to.
Also understand the 1098-T. Box 1 shows the amount actually paid in the tax year that 1098-T is for. Box 2 shows the amount "BILLED" in the tax year that 1098-T is for. That does not mean you paid it in that year.
For a box 2 amount, the way the TruboTax program handles that, is the following screens will specifically and explicitly ask you if you paid that billed amount in the tax year that 1098-T is for. If you indicated that you DID PAY that amount in the tax year the 1098-T is for, then it's treated "as if" the amount was in box 1.
So be careful. As Elmer Fudd would say, "Be vewwy, vewwy carfuwl". If you double dip by claiming an amount in 2016 that you paid and claimed in 2015, the IRS "will" catch it in about 24-36 months down the road, and the fines and penalties will more than offset any "credits" you may have gotten.
Also for the purposes of credits, since you graduated in 2016, that year is your 5th calendar year of college. Credits such as the AOC are limited to four years. So if you took those credits in your first four calendar years, you won't get it for 2016.
Remember, colleges work in academic years, while the IRS works in calendar years. So the reality is, it takes you 5 calendar years to get that four year degree. Generally, that 4th academic year is paid in full, with payment for the 2nd semester of that 4th academic year due by the end of the 4th calendar year. So any credits would have been claimed and maxed out already, prior to the calendar year of graduation.