Can i dedut tuition i paid for my nephew, no 1098T

[Howard1948]

You must be able to and claim the child as a dependent on your return to claim the education deduction/credit for qualified educational expenses you paid on the child's behalf.  If you do not claim the child as a dependent, whoever does can include the payments you made in their calculation of the education deduction/credit they may be entitled to.  And if no one claims the child, then the child can claim your payments on his behalf on his return.