How to claim tuition expense without a 1098-T or EIN from my online Master's program?

You're in a tricky situation, but there are ways to handle this. The IRS does allow you to claim qualified education expenses even without a 1098-T in some cases. First, make sure you have documentation of all your tuition payments (receipts, bank statements, etc.). This will be crucial if you get audited. For the EIN field, you have a couple options: You can try searching the school's name in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool online to find their EIN. Many educational institutions are listed there. If that doesn't work, you could try looking at the school's website, particularly their financial or tax information pages. Sometimes the EIN is listed there even if they don't provide 1098-Ts. As a last resort, you can enter all zeros (000000000) in the EIN field and attach a statement to your return explaining that the institution refused to provide their EIN despite multiple requests. Include copies of your payment documentation with this statement.

After struggling with almost the exact same situation last year, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it literally saved me thousands on my education expenses! My online program also wouldn't provide an EIN, and I was about to give up on claiming my tuition until someone recommended this tool. I uploaded my tuition payment receipts and university enrollment documents, and the system automatically extracted all the relevant information. What really impressed me was that it found my school's EIN through their database even though the school wouldn't give it to me directly! It also confirmed which of my expenses qualified for education credits and which didn't. The tool walked me through Form 8863 step-by-step and even helped me determine whether the Lifetime Learning Credit or tuition deduction would be more beneficial in my situation.

Just wanted to update everyone - I tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here and it worked perfectly for my situation! I honestly didn't expect much, but it found my online school's EIN within minutes after I uploaded my enrollment confirmation and payment receipts. The tool also helped me understand which parts of my program qualified for tax benefits (turns out some fees I paid weren't eligible, which I would have incorrectly claimed). It even calculated that the Lifetime Learning Credit would save me about $1,800 more than taking the tuition deduction in my case. I was able to complete my taxes last night and claim my education expenses properly. Such a relief after being stuck on this issue for weeks! If you're in a similar situation with an uncooperative school, definitely worth checking out.

If you're still having trouble getting the school's EIN even after trying the methods others suggested, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I had a similar issue last year and was getting nowhere with my school's financial aid office. After weeks of frustration, I used Claimyr to get through to an actual IRS agent (something I thought was impossible these days!) and explained my situation. The agent confirmed I could use zeros for the EIN as long as I had proper documentation of my tuition payments and could prove the institution refused to provide their EIN. They even gave me specific instructions on how to proceed with my filing. You can see how the process works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The service basically holds your place in the IRS phone queue so you don't have to wait on hold for hours. I was honestly shocked when I got connected to a real human at the IRS in under 15 minutes.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I was still stuck with my education credit issues and decided to try it as a last resort. The service actually worked exactly as described - I got a call back when an IRS agent was ready, skipping the 2+ hour hold time. The agent walked me through exactly how to claim my tuition expenses without the 1098-T or EIN. She confirmed I could use zeros for the EIN field and explained that I should keep all my tuition payment records for at least 3 years in case of questions. She even gave me a reference number for the call that I could cite if my return got flagged for review. I was able to file my taxes properly yesterday and claim my education credit, which saved me over $2,000. Definitely worth the effort to get official guidance directly from the IRS!

Something nobody's mentioned yet - have you checked if you're eligible for the Lifetime Learning Credit instead of the tuition deduction? The LLC can be worth up to $2,000 per tax return and applies to qualified education expenses for undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree courses. The form for this is 8863, and you'd still need the EIN issue sorted out, but it might be more valuable than the tuition deduction depending on your income level. If your modified AGI is under $80,000 (single) or $160,000 (married filing jointly), you can claim the full credit.

I work in a university bursar's office (not at your school) and I can tell you that your school's stance is unusual but not unheard of. One workaround that sometimes helps: check any financial documents you received from them - sometimes the EIN appears on receipts, financial aid award letters, or even in the footer of official correspondence. Also, try calling and specifically asking for the "accounts payable" or "vendor relations" department instead of student services. These departments often have the EIN readily available since other businesses need it for their own tax purposes when paying the school.