Filing for Education Tax Credit with 1098-T after submitting tax return (first time)

The form you received (1098-T) shows your qualified education expenses, which can make you eligible for education tax credits - mainly the American Opportunity Credit (up to $2,500) or the Lifetime Learning Credit (up to $2,000). Since you've already filed, you'll need to file an amended return using Form 1040-X to claim these credits. The American Opportunity Credit is probably what your classmates are talking about. It's available for the first four years of higher education and can get you up to $2,500 back (with up to $1,000 being refundable, meaning you can get it even if you don't owe taxes). The Lifetime Learning Credit is another option with different requirements. To claim either credit, you'll need to complete Form 8863 and attach it to your amended return. Make sure you have information about your qualified expenses (tuition, required fees) and any scholarships/grants received.

I was in a similar situation last year - totally missed claiming my education credits on my initial return. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my 1098-T and other documents, and it flagged that I had missed the education credit opportunity. Their system actually showed me exactly which forms I needed to amend and even calculated the potential refund I was missing! The nice thing was that it gave me a clear breakdown of which expenses qualified and which didn't, because not everything on your 1098-T necessarily counts toward the credit. For example, I had some expenses in Box 1 that were covered by a scholarship that couldn't be claimed, but taxr.ai clarified all that for me.

Just wanted to update - I ended up trying taxr.ai after asking about it here. Honestly, it was super helpful for my situation! I uploaded my 1098-T and it immediately identified that I qualified for the American Opportunity Credit. It walked me through which boxes on the form were relevant and how to handle my scholarship money correctly. The system generated the completed 1040-X and Form 8863 for me with everything filled out properly. Just got my additional refund of $1,856 last week! Much better than the tax software I originally used which somehow missed this completely. Definitely recommend for anyone dealing with education credits - wish I'd known about this in my previous years of school.

If you're having trouble getting information from the IRS about your amended return after filing (which is common since they're so backed up), I recommend trying https://claimyr.com. It got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes after I'd been trying for DAYS to get information about my amended return with education credits. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was at my wit's end trying to figure out whether my amended return had been received and how long processing would take. The regular IRS number kept disconnecting me after being on hold for hours. Claimyr actually got me through to a real person who could access my account and confirm everything was in order.

I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment I figured I'd try calling the IRS myself to prove it wasn't necessary. THREE HOURS on hold yesterday and then got disconnected. Tried again this morning, another hour and a half before giving up. Finally tried the Claimyr service and was connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes. The agent confirmed my amended return with education credits was received and gave me an estimated processing timeframe. Saved me so much time and frustration. Just wanted to follow up since I was pretty dismissive before trying it.

One thing to watch out for when amending to claim education credits: if you received scholarships or grants, you need to know whether they were used for qualified expenses (tuition, fees) vs. non-qualified expenses (room and board, etc.). This affects how much of your expenses you can claim for the credit. Look at box 5 on your 1098-T (scholarships/grants) and box 1 (payments received for qualified expenses). If box 5 is larger than box 1, that might mean some scholarship money went to non-qualified expenses, which gets complicated for tax purposes.

Does anyone know how long it takes for an amended return to be processed? I filed mine to claim the education credit like 2 months ago and the "Where's My Amended Return" tool still just says received.

Hey Freya! I was in almost the exact same situation last year - got my 1098-T weeks after filing and panicked about missing out on the education credit. Don't worry, you can definitely still claim it! You'll need to file an amended return using Form 1040-X. The process isn't too complicated once you understand it. First, gather all your education documents - your 1098-T, receipts for any out-of-pocket education expenses, and records of any scholarships or grants you received. The American Opportunity Credit is probably your best bet if you're in your first four years of college and enrolled at least half-time. It can get you up to $2,500, with up to $1,000 being refundable (meaning you can get it back even if you don't owe taxes). You'll need to complete Form 8863 (Education Credits) along with your 1040-X. Make sure to check how your scholarships/grants were applied - you can only claim the credit for expenses you actually paid out of pocket, not those covered by tax-free aid. The IRS is pretty backed up right now, so expect the amended return to take 12-20 weeks to process. But it's definitely worth it for potentially getting that money back! Don't let the paperwork intimidate you - thousands of students go through this same process every year.