Question

School is still reporting amount billed on 1098-t

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
February 28, 2020
2 replies
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I attended my last class in winter quarter of 2019. My school refuses to issue a 1098-t because they say that the amount that I paid for that class was already included in box 1 of my 2018 1098-t. I was billed for the class in 2018, but I did not pay for the class until January of 2019. The school did not check box 7 of the 2018 1098-t, but the amount that they listed in box 1 lines up with what I was BILLED in 2018, not what I actually paid in 2018

Not A Product Question

L

linaj20201

So, the question is did you claim any education tax credit for that tuition amount which you were billed but not paid until 2019 on your 2018 taxes?

If you had claimed, you would need to amend your 2018 taxes and re-claim that on your 2019 tax return. Per law, the IRS allows you to claim an education tax credit for the expenses you pay ONLY in that particular tax year. If you did not claim on your 2018 taxes, you can claim on this year's taxes by adjusting the tuition amount. See the instructions below.

If you have claimed on your 2018 taxes, read here:

If you filed your 2018 taxes with TurboTax, to amend, click here: https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/5114064

If you did not file with TurboTax, but wants to amend with TurboTax, you can do so. Here are the steps:

You will need to purchase a 2018 TurboTax desktop program here Past Years Products and
Recreate your return in exactly the way as to how it was filed, then
Go through the amendment process by following these steps :
In the program, across the top, go to
Federal Taxes / Other Tax Situations / Other Tax Forms- Amend a return, select Start

On your 2019 taxes, you would want to adjust your tuition amount on the Form 1098-t replica screen. Here are the steps:

Sign in to your account, select Pick up where you left off
At the right upper corner, in the search box, type in "1098t" and Enter
Select Jump to 1098t
Follow prompts
On the screen, Type in the info from your 1098-T, check the box This is not what," Student' Name paid to school"
Enter the actual amount you paid
See the image below

C

cheesea666Author

Thanks, this is what I was concerned about. I did not notice that they were reporting this incorrectly on the 2018 1098-t because the amount that I was billed was very close to what I paid. This also means that the 2018 1098-t did not include the payment made for winter 2018 because that was also billed in 2017 but paid for in 2018. I reached out to the school and they told me that this was how the IRS requires them to fill out the form and to go kick rocks.

Carl11_2

Employee

-Scholarships, grants, 529 funds, gifts from Aunt Mary, Employer provided education assistance, etc., is reported as taxable income (initially) in the tax year it is received. It *does* *not* *matter* what tax year that money is "for".

- All qualified education expenses paid, are reported and claimed in the tax year they are actually paid. It *does* *not* *matter* what year is actually paid *for*.

More than likely if you paid it in 2018, then you took the credit for it already on your 2018 tax return. (That's actually a good thing for you, in the long run.)

. I was billed for the class in 2018, but I did not pay for the class until January of 2019.

The fact you were billed in 2018 is irrelevant, since box 2 of the 1098-T was rendered obsolete and no longer used beginning with the 2018 form. Log into your online college account and go to your financials section. There you can do a detailed printout of all financial activity with the school and use that as your "proof" for completing your 2019 tax return. Keep that printout too, so if you get audited (which I doubt that will happen) you have your proof.

You do not require the 1098-T in order to report your education stuff. But if your situation is one where the school is required to issue one and they do not, that's there problem. Not yours. Not having the 1098-T will not negate you qualifying for any credits you may be eligible for.

Just understand that as an undergraduate student, if you meet the requirements to qualify as a dependent on your parent's tax return, then you will not get "ANY" education tax breaks anyway. (more than 99% of undergrads qualify as a dependent on their parents tax return.)

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cheesea666Author

The school actually includes a break down of what they billed me and what I paid. I definitely paid for winter 2019 in January of 2019 and it is not listed in the breakdown of what was paid in 2018. What I'm noticing is that they are not actually using box 1 to list what was paid, it's listing what was billed instead, which means they included what was billed for winter quarter even though it was not paid until January 2019. That also means that the 2018 1098-t did not include that was paid for winter 2017, but that would have been included in the 2017-t since they were still allowed to use box 2 to report what was billed. Did not notice when I filed in 2018 since the amount that I was billed was really close to what I paid.

Not a dependent of my parents, actually had to wait until after I married to be able to go to school since my parents made too much much for me to qualify for any aid and they refused to help me pay for school.