1098-T adjustments

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
January 29, 2021
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I am a graduate student, so my department pays for all of my tuition and fees. In 2019 I was assessed tuition and my school paid for it, so it showed up on my 2019 1098-T. On this year's 1098-T, however, there's an adjustment in box 4 for that tuition, effectively moving the payment from 2019 to 2020. Looking at my student portal, it does look like they somehow moved the tuition payment to 2020, even though I definitely remember the tuition all being paid in 2019 (I would not have even been able to stay in my classes if it hadn't been).

Do I have to amend my 2019 taxes to remove that payment? It would make my scholarships for 2019 more than $8000 more than my qualified expenses, meaning that I have to pay way more taxes. Or can I just say on my 2020 return that this tuition payment was really for 2019, and effectively ignore the situation? Basically - do you include tuition payments for the school year in which they were actually paid or in the year in which the semester took place?

Thanks!!

Hal_Al

Employee

Q. Do I have to amend my 2019 taxes to remove that payment?

A. No

Q. Or can I just say on my 2020 return that this tuition payment was really for 2019, and effectively ignore the situation?

A. Yes, ignore it

Q. Basically - do you include tuition payments for the school year in which they were actually paid or in the year in which the semester took place?

A. It depends. If you are claiming a tuition credit, it must be based on the actual year paid. If you are determining whether some of your scholarship is taxable (I think that's your situation), you can apply them across years.

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 deduction or possibly you have taxable scholarship income. You claim the tuition credit, or report scholarship income, based on your own financial records, not the 1098-T.