confused

[abcdefghijk]

Can you receive a AOTC when paying tuition with prepaid tuition and have room and board covered with TAXABLE scholarships? 

[KrisD]

"The payment for prepaid tuiiton for Spring was made in 2019 but 1098-T says it was made in 2019" What does that mean?

[KrisD]

Well you are correct, only what was paid in 2018 should be in Box 1. Are you comparing it to the student's school account statement? Are you accounting for anything that was billed in 2017 but paid in 2018? Are you accounting for scholarships and/or direct distributions to the school?

[KrisD]

Sure, but what are you trying to accomplish?  If you received a 2018 1099-Q, that distribution was made in 2018, right? Are you just trying to make sure you can use the amount next year on your 2019 return? So you want Box 1 to be less?

[KrisD]

Oh, I see. If you adjust Box 1, your 1099-Q will not have expenses to match to it, is that what you want?

[KrisD]

I posted an answer which should help you.

[KrisD · Accepted solution]

To do what you want to do, edit the 1098-T by using the "What if this is not what I paid" link located below Box 1 on the 1098-T screen in TurboTax. 

If you need to go back to the education section, type 1098-T into the search box and click the "Jump to 1098-T".

Click Edit next to the student's name. 

Click Edit next to the name of the school

Continue to the 1098-T screen and click the "What if this is not what I paid to this school" link in blue below Box 1

A drop-down will open (you may need to scroll down to see it) 

Enter the proper amount here and continue. 

Always CONTINUE through the Education section of the software until you get to the “Maximize My Credit” page. Do this after any entries you make that could affect the education credit, such as a 1099-Q reporting 529 distributions. If you follow the interview step-by-step you’ll be fine, but if you make any entries out of order, you may need to update the “Maximize My Credit” page

Be aware that is may or may not change the credit amount and/or your refund. The credit only uses a certain amount of expenses at which time it maxes out. 

[abcdefghijk]

thank you- does the box that you put the correction in contain the mandatory fees plus the payments that were received?

[fanfare]

some schools are issuing incorrect 1098-T documents. the format has changed.
If so, you have to request a corrected form.
To take a credit in 2018 you must have made payments in calendar year 2018.
Otherwise take it in 2019, you still get four shots for a four year course.