School won't issue 1098T form as required. Should I file a complaint? If so, how?

[Lucy11]

I paid tuition in years 2015, 2016, and 2017 but only received a 1098T form for 2016. I think my school lumped all tuition payment for the entire program into one year (2016) and reported that to IRS as such. I claimed the Lifetime Education Credit in my tax returns for years 2015 and 2016. Now IRS is asking me to explain the credit that I claimed for year 2015 because information from some "third party" (I'm guessing the school) does not support my claim. I'm in the process of dealing with the IRS for that and worry that if I claim the lifetime education credit again for my 2017 tax return, I would run into the same problem. Since the school won't even give me a 1098T form for 2017, they surely would not report the payment I made in 2017. I really don't want to deal with the IRS again a couple years down the road for the 2017 lifetime education credit. The school is not inclined to correct their record and give me a 1098T form for 2017. I want to file complaint against them, but how? To whom? Or should I just let it go and wait to see if IRS will go after me again in a couple of years?

[maglib · Accepted solution]

Many schools report when billed and not what was paid.  So quite often they bill you for 2017 in 2016 and hence no 1098T for 2017.

Additionally your school may not be  an eligible post-secondary educational institution. Search on FAFSA to see if your school was qualified: https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/schoolSearch?locale=en_EN

You also must have attended at least 5 months and took at least 12 credits a semester to be claimed at least part time. to be eligible for any credits.  

 Educational institutions are required to file a Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement, with the IRS and to provide a copy of the form to the student, for each enrolled student for whom there is a reportable transaction. A reportable transaction includes payments received, amounts billed or refunds made for tuition and related expenses. For the Form 1098-T to be accurately prepared, the educational institution must address boxes 8 and 9. Note that box 8 will be checked if the student was enrolled at least half-time, and box 9 will be checked if the student was enrolled as a graduate student. There are some exceptions where an educational institution is not required to file and provide the Form 1098-T. These exceptions include:

• Courses for which no academic credit is offered, even if the student is otherwise enrolled in a degree program.
• Nonresident alien students, unless the student requests the institution to file Form 1098-T.
• Students whose tuition and related expenses are waived entirely or paid entirely with scholarships or grants.
• Students whose tuition and related expenses are covered by a formal billing arrangement with the student’s employer or a government agency such as the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense.

Here is more from IRS on the AOTC qualifications: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/american-opportunity-tax-credit-questions-and-answers

I hope this was helpful?

[Lucy11]

Thank you, maglib, for the quick and thorough answer. A few more questions. The school did say something about reporting what was billed, but they billed me for 2016 in 2015, and I also didn't get a 1098T form for 2015.  Since I received a 1098T form for 2016, it's likely that my school is an eligible post-secondary educational institution. Finally, the program lasted a total of 16 months, and I was a full time student receiving academic credits. None the exceptions apply to me.

[maglib]

You know you can still fill in the information without a 1098-T.  You said you were being audited, what is status of the audit ? What was the name of the school and what was the degree program you were in? What is the reason the school is giving for not sending a 1098T?  Did you change your degree program during the time ?

[maglib]

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/government-entities/federal-state-local-governments/increase-in-information-retu... penalties for a company failing to file.  You would have to contact the IRS to report at 1-800-829-1040  make sure you write down persons ID number as they try to say it fast. Ask to get to correct person to report a company for failing to file tax report forms required.  If they try to put you off, ask for a supervisor, note the IRS support is often people who just receive 3 months of training.

[Lucy11]

Thank you again, maglib. The link you provided is very helpful. The school is being very succinct and frankly kind of vague about what they do as in "Our school only reports to the IRS the amount we charge the student for the tax year." That's it, nothing more on that matter.

I'm corresponding with the IRS by mail currently about the education credit only and I it's not a full blown audit. I think I will hear from them soon, and I believe I have the law and evidence on my side. But who wants that hassle in the first place? Especially if it's due to the school's inaccurate reporting, and they made a ton of money off students like me!

[jbouza92]

Hi Lucy11, any updates? The same exact thing is happening to me and I am curious how I should proceed.

[Lucy11]

IRS sent me a letter saying that I no longer owe them money for Year 2015 after I'd sent them my payment records and the school's receipt acknowledging the payments. I still have Year 2017 to worry about since the the exact same thing could happen again and I'm 99% sure that my school didn't report my tuition payment accurately for that year either. I have saved all the receipts and relative documents for that reason.

I have not heard from the school since. They wouldn't even reply to my inquiry regarding whether they would report my tuition payments accurately for Year 2017. Doesn't that tell me something? These type of for-profit universities have their shady side and likely will preserve the status quo and their own convenience at the expense of students. For now, I'm not reporting them because I'm not sure if I will go back for a master's degree later, but if I get audited for Year 2017, I think I will.

[Natbat123]

Hello, 

I was wondering if somebody can help me as my school is not cooperating. I was issued a 1098 – T form in 2018 and I have always used financial aid and grants for my school but I still receive a 1098 form and a letter saying that I can qualify for the American opportunity tax credit. So now for my 2021 taxes I went to a tax preparer for the first time who had mentioned this form to me and then I remembered back in 2018 I received this form but had not received it since and I have been in school as a full-time student for the last two years. I did see on the exemptions listed and a comment that the school does not have to send one out if you had grants but I had grants back in 2018 (no out of pocket expenses)  and still received one and qualified for the American opportunity tax credit so wouldn’t I still qualify for that same tax credit now and get the 1098 form? These are the questions that I attempted to address my school about but unfortunately the student manager was uncooperative and actually hung up on me after telling me she has other students to worry about. I feel pretty lost and would appreciate any guidance! I know this is an old forum but I was hoping someone can help me out who was having similar issues.
Thank you for anyone who can help! 

[Vanessa A]

It all depends.

Receiving or not receiving the 1098-T is not the deciding factor in whether or not you can claim an education credit. Many schools have this information available directly on their websites in the finance section.  The amount of your tuition and fees you paid along with the amount of student loans you took out, your scholarships and your grants.  If your school does, you can get all of the information you need from there. As you walk through the education credits section of TurboTax, you would be asked if you had a 1098-T and if you don't you will say no, but you can still enter your expenses. 

If your scholarships and grants are more than your tuition, books and expenses, you may  not qualify for the American Opportunity Credit depending on how you allocated the grant money.  For instance, if you chose to treat the grant as income and you used it for living expenses, it then becomes taxable, but you would also potentially qualify for the American Opportunity Credit.

Also, depending on how old you are, you may not qualify for an education credit.  In order to qualify for an education credit, you must be 24 or older if at least one of your parents are still living. 

If you do qualify for the past two years, you can always go back and Amend Your Return for the past two years.