1098-T Form as Proof of Full-time Student Status for Tax Deductions

The 1098-T with Box 8 checked is definitely a good starting point, but there's a little confusion here that's worth clearing up. For most education tax benefits, including the American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit, the IRS doesn't actually require you to be "full-time" - they require you to be at least "half-time" for certain benefits. That's exactly what Box 8 on the 1098-T indicates - that you were enrolled at least half-time for some part of the academic year. For the American Opportunity Credit specifically (which is the most generous education credit), you need to be enrolled at least half-time for at least one academic period during the tax year. So if you were full-time in spring and part-time (but still at least half-time) in fall, you should still qualify. Your 1098-T with Box 8 checked is usually sufficient proof for the IRS, but you might also want to include a copy of your transcript or enrollment verification that shows your credit hours for each semester. This provides additional documentation of your status.

I went through something similar with my dependent last year. I found this amazing service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that really helped clear up my confusion about education credits and what documents are needed. I was stressing about this exact half-time vs. full-time student status issue for my kid's education credit. The site has this cool feature where you can upload your 1098-T and other education documents, and it analyzes them to tell you exactly which credits you qualify for and what additional documentation might be needed. It saved me a ton of research time and made sure I wasn't leaving money on the table. In my case, they confirmed that the 1098-T with Box 8 checked was indeed sufficient proof for the IRS, but they also recommended including an enrollment verification from the school just to be thorough.

Just wanted to update on my experience with taxr.ai after seeing it recommended here. I was skeptical (as you could tell from my question), but gave it a try with my daughter's education tax situation. I uploaded her 1098-T and some additional enrollment documents, and they quickly clarified that we qualified for the American Opportunity Credit even though she was only half-time for one semester. The analysis showed exactly which boxes on the 1098-T were relevant for our claim and what supporting documents we should keep on file. They even provided a customized letter explaining the half-time enrollment qualification that we could include with our documentation to the IRS. Much clearer than the generic advice I was finding elsewhere!

If the IRS is already contacting your mom about this, you might need to speak directly with someone at the IRS to resolve it. I had a similar issue last year and spent WEEKS trying to get through to a human being at the IRS. Eventually I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes. There's a demo video of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c For my situation, the IRS agent explained exactly what documentation they needed and where to send it. Turned out they wanted more than just the 1098-T - they also wanted verification from the school showing the credit hours taken each semester. The agent told me that for education credits, sometimes they do these random verification checks even when your documentation is perfect, so don't stress too much about it.

I need to eat my words and apologize for calling Claimyr a scam. After my skeptical comment, I was still desperate to reach the IRS about my own tax issue (unrelated to education credits), so I decided to try it. I honestly couldn't believe it when my phone rang 15 minutes later and there was an actual IRS representative on the line. The agent was able to pull up my file and resolve my issue in one call. I'd been trying to get through on my own for THREE MONTHS with no success. For the original poster - the IRS agent I spoke with mentioned that for education credit verification, they typically want to see the 1098-T AND either an official transcript or enrollment verification showing credit hours. The key is that it needs to show you were at least half-time for one academic period during the tax year.

Something nobody has mentioned yet - make sure your mom has Form 8863 (Education Credits) filled out correctly and submitted with her return. The IRS might be asking for verification because something on that form doesn't match their records or the 1098-T information they received from your school. Also, if your mom is claiming you as a dependent, make sure she meets all the requirements for that too. The education credits and dependent status often go hand in hand.

Just to clarify on the half-time vs. full-time confusion - for the American Opportunity Credit, the student must be enrolled at least half-time for at least one academic period during the tax year. For the Lifetime Learning Credit, there's no minimum enrollment requirement. "At least half-time" is defined by your school. Typically it's around 6 credit hours per semester for undergrads, but it can vary by institution.

Based on your situation, the 1098-T with Box 8 checked should be sufficient proof for the IRS, but I'd recommend gathering a bit more documentation to make your response bulletproof. Since you were full-time in spring 2022 and part-time (but presumably still at least half-time) in fall 2022, you should qualify for the American Opportunity Credit. The key requirement is being enrolled at least half-time for at least one academic period during the tax year - which you clearly met in spring. Here's what I'd send to the IRS: 1. Copy of your 1098-T form with Box 8 checked 2. Official transcript or enrollment verification showing your credit hours for both spring and fall 2022 3. A brief cover letter explaining that you were enrolled full-time in spring and at least half-time in fall The IRS verification requests are often triggered by automated systems, not necessarily because you did anything wrong. They just want to confirm the information matches their records. Having that extra documentation showing your specific enrollment status for each semester should resolve any questions they have. Also double-check that your mom's Form 8863 matches the information on your 1098-T exactly - sometimes small discrepancies can trigger these requests.

One thing that might help clarify the situation - check if your school considers "part-time" status in fall 2022 to still be "at least half-time" for federal financial aid purposes. Many schools have different definitions for part-time vs. half-time. For example, at some institutions, you could be taking 9 credit hours and be considered "part-time" by the school's standards, but still meet the federal "at least half-time" requirement (which is often 6+ credit hours for undergrads). This distinction matters because the 1098-T Box 8 reflects the federal half-time standard, not the school's internal classifications. If you're unsure about your fall enrollment status, you can contact your school's financial aid office - they can tell you definitively whether your fall credit load met the federal half-time requirement. If it did, then your 1098-T with Box 8 checked is accurate and should satisfy the IRS's request for proof. Also, keep in mind that the IRS verification letter might seem scary, but these are often routine compliance checks. They're not necessarily questioning the validity of your claim - they just need documentation to match their automated systems with what your mom reported on her tax return.

I've been following this thread closely because I'm dealing with a very similar situation with my own tax return. What's been most helpful to me is understanding that the IRS verification request doesn't necessarily mean there's a problem - it's often just their automated system doing a routine check. From everything I've read here and my own research, it sounds like your 1098-T with Box 8 checked should be the primary document you need. The fact that you were full-time in spring 2022 clearly meets the "at least half-time for one academic period" requirement for the American Opportunity Credit. One additional tip I'd add: when you respond to the IRS, make sure to include the notice number from their original letter and respond within the timeframe they specified. I've heard that timely responses help avoid any potential complications or additional follow-up requests. It's also worth noting that if your mom used tax preparation software or a tax professional, they might be able to help with the response since they would have the original Form 8863 and can verify that everything was reported correctly. The advice about getting an enrollment verification from your registrar's office is spot-on - it's usually a quick process and provides that extra layer of documentation that can put both you and the IRS at ease.