Tuition assistance for the military

[joshuajames25]

I'm an active duty service member who is also attending school online. I did not get a 1098-T last year for the the portion of time I was in school, but I have consistently taken 1- 2 classes at a time last year every 9 weeks. Tuition Assistance through the military has paid for it, so is that considered grants? And what can I do about book expenses that I paid for?

[KatrinaB]

1. The school you attended must be listed as an eligible education institution in order to claim any expenses.

 To see if your school qualifies eligible institutions here: 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/eligible-educational-inst

2. Your tuition assistance will be counted as grant money and the expenses related to it will not count towards your education credit.

3. If you meet certain other qualifications, you will be able to claim your book expense along with some other course-related materials that were required by the school.

You are required to have a 1098 T to file for an education credit unless your school is not required to send one. Please see the link below for further information to see which education credit you may qualify for:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8863.pdf

[edited, 01/15/2017]