Claiming educational credit without 1098-T

[chingchen58]

My son's last school year was July 2016 to May 2017, and we did make a tuition payment for his final semester in January 2017. 

Login to school account, we saw four 1098-T, and the last one was for 2016 tax year, and the form was available in January 2017. Apparently, the school made these 1098-T based on the school year.

So, can we claim educational credit for tax year 2017, since we did make a tuition payment in January 2017? And if we can, how do we solve the problem that we don't have a 1098-T for 2017 tax year? 

[KrisD · Accepted solution]

Yes. 

The reason is this: School years and calendar years sometimes overlap. If the school billed in December 2016 for classes that started in January 2017 and-

if you paid for the classes in 2016, those fees are education expenses for 2016

if you paid for the classes in 2017, those fees are education expenses for 2017

Credits are based on what was paid in the tax year. 

According to the IRS:

“If your school sent you a 1098-T in 2016 and it showed that you were billed in 2016 for classes that started in 2017, and you paid for those classes in 2017, you may use that amount to apply for an education credit in 2017. You may or may not receive a 1098-T in 2017 from the school. You could not have used that amount (the fee for the 2017 classes) towards a credit last year. 

Type   1098-T   into the search box to get to the education section and enter the expenses without a 1098-T stating that you do have an exception. 

You can do this by answering the interview questions in the program.

Be sure to keep a copy of the students school account statement with your tax file.

Make sure you did not use those same expenses towards a credit in 2016.

CLICK HERE for IRS Pub 970 Education Credits

[kaseybutler48]

Yes, you can absolutely claim an education credit for that since you made the tuition payment in 2017.  As for the 1098T, have you tried contacting the school directly to ask when the new 1098T will be posted online?  

If you would like to enter the amounts yourself, the amount you were charged for tuition (not the amount paid) for 2017 will go in Box 2.  The amount that you actually PAID will be entered in Box 1.  In Box 5, enter any scholarships or grants (not student loans) your son received.  Student loans, if he received any and even if they are paid by you, are considered an amount paid (Box 1).  If your son was a full-time student, be sure to check Box 8 and if he was a graduate student (already had Bachelors and was pursuing Masters, Doctorate), check Box 9.