1098-T When Tuition Charged vs When Tuition Paid

[BILLBOOKMAN]

1098-t box 1 was reduced by 5481 for the refund of 2019 tuition refunded in 2020.

[Cynthiad66]

You can deduct Tuition Paid.  You cannot use expenses that were charged but not paid yet.  It is not an expense that you paid or may not pay.

Qualified expenses are amounts paid for tuition, fees and other related expense for an eligible student that are required for enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution. You must pay the expenses for an academic period* that starts during the tax year or the first three months of the next tax year.

See the link below for more details on Paid Educational expenses:  Qualified Education Expenses

[BILLBOOKMAN]

Problem is matching periods payments  for fall semester 2019 an overpayment of 5471 was made and carried over to spring 2020 semester this was refunded   in April 2020 - the 1098-t for 2020 reduced the amount paid in box 1 is 9700 with scholarships showing over 13000 - the school should have put the refund in box 4 it was made for 2019 tuition  and box one should be 9700 +5471=15171 

[AmyC]

The $5471 should have been on your 2019 form for expenses paid. The school deems the money was paid in 2019. You should have received credit on your 2019 return. The frustration of having a carryover that large!  Your box 5 income is looking pretty large. I am going to recommend you look at another of my answers for help. You may yet be able to get education credits. Usually, it is much better for you to have credits and the kid a little income.

If the $5471 was not on your 2019 1098T, you should contact the school and have them issue a new one and amend your 2019 return.

[Marxist1]

I have exactly the same issue, for my son's University. In his last year, they did report something in Box 1, but it is only a fraction of what we paid in tuition & fees, and they are claiming now that they "can only" report what was billed in the calendar year, not what was paid.

However,

1) They are using Box 1, not Box 2.

2) Except for his first year, when he began in Fall, every subsequent year's 1098-T shows 2 semesters' worth of tuition & fees.

I cannot get them to see their error. and my taxes are due!

Is there some scam where a University benefits from underreporting on the 1098T? Isn't it funny it's happening in students' final semesters?

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

Q. How can I get them (the school) to see their error and correct the 1098-T? and my taxes are due!

A. You can't. Stop trying and just complete your taxes based on your own records. We see this frequently, in this forum, although the numbers are going down slowly. 

The 1098-T is only an informational document. The numbers on it are not required to be entered onto your tax return. However receipt of a 1098-T frequently means you are either eligible for a tuition credit or possibly your student has taxable scholarship income. 

If you claim the tuition credit, you do need to report that you got one or that you qualify for an exception (the TurboTax interview will handle this)

You claim the tuition credit, or report scholarship income, based on your own financial records, not the 1098-T. In the 1098-T screen, click on the link "What if this is not what I paid the school" underneath box 1. You will then be able to enter the actual amounts paid. You will also reach a screen that allows you to adjust the scholarship amount for "amounts not awarded for 2023 expenses".

Or if you find it easier, just change the numbers in boxes 1& 5 to what your records show. The 1098-T that you enter in TT is not sent to the IRS.