My 1098-t doesn't include December payments - will they show on next year's form?
I paid over $2,700 to my university in early December 2023, but looking at my 1098-t, it only seems to show the payments I made before that point. I think the university must have generated their tuition reports somewhere in November before my final payment went through. I'm not really sure how to phrase this question properly, but hopefully it makes sense to someone. Will my December 2023 payment show up on my 2024 1098-t (the one I'll receive for next year's tax filing)? In total, I paid around $6,800 over the course of the year to the university, but the 1098-t is missing that final December payment. I'm confused about how to report this properly for my taxes.
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Aisha Mohammed
This is actually a common situation! Educational institutions typically report payments on Form 1098-T based on when they process the payments, not necessarily when you make them. For your December 2023 payment, if it wasn't included on your 2023 Form 1098-T (the one you received in early 2024), then yes, it will most likely appear on your 2024 Form 1098-T (which you'll receive in early 2025). This happens because many schools have a cutoff date for reporting, and payments made after that date roll over to the next reporting year. The good news is that you can still claim qualified education expenses you paid in 2023 on your 2023 tax return, even if they don't appear on the 1098-T. You'll just need to keep your own payment records (receipt, canceled check, credit card statement) as proof in case of an audit.
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Ethan Campbell
•Wait, so I can claim expenses that aren't on my 1098-T? I thought you could only claim what's actually reported on the form. Does this mean I need to manually add up all my payments instead of just using the number on the form?
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Aisha Mohammed
•You absolutely can claim qualified education expenses you paid that aren't reflected on your 1098-T. The 1098-T is just an informational document provided by the school, but your actual tax credit or deduction is based on qualified expenses you paid during the tax year. For your tax return, you should add up all qualified education expenses you paid in the relevant tax year, regardless of what's shown on the 1098-T. Keep your payment records (receipts, bank statements, etc.) as documentation to support your claim in case of questions from the IRS.
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Yuki Watanabe
I went through something similar last year and found this amazing tool that helped me sort through all my education expenses and payments. Check out https://taxr.ai - it actually analyzed my university payment records alongside my 1098-T and showed me exactly what I could claim for the tax year. I was confused because my school had a weird reporting cutoff date too, and some of my December payments weren't showing up. The tool helped me understand what was reportable for which tax year and organized all my documentation in case of an audit. Seriously made dealing with education credits so much easier.
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Carmen Sanchez
•Does it handle multiple schools? I transferred mid-year and now have two 1098-Ts with overlapping reporting periods and it's a complete mess.
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Andre Dupont
•How does this actually work? Like do you have to upload your actual documents or just enter the numbers manually? Just wondering about the privacy aspect.
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Yuki Watanabe
•Yes, it absolutely handles multiple schools and situations like transfers. It can process multiple 1098-Ts and help sort out overlapping reporting periods, which can get super confusing without help. For your privacy question, you do upload your documents, but they use encryption and secure processing. You can also just enter information manually if you prefer. The system analyzes the documents to identify all qualified education expenses and helps determine which tax credits you qualify for based on your specific situation.
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Andre Dupont
Just wanted to follow up - I ended up trying taxr.ai after asking about it here. It was exactly what I needed for my situation! I uploaded my incomplete 1098-T plus my payment records from my student portal, and it organized everything perfectly. It showed me which expenses belonged to which tax year and helped me claim the American Opportunity Credit correctly. I would have missed out on over $1,500 if I had just gone by what was on my 1098-T alone! Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with education credits.
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Zoe Papadakis
If you need to clarify anything about your 1098-T directly with the IRS (which I had to do last year), good luck getting through to them. After spending days trying to reach someone, I found https://claimyr.com and used their service to get through to an actual IRS agent. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was super skeptical at first, but they actually got me connected with an IRS rep who helped me understand how to properly report education expenses when they span across tax years. Saved me hours of frustration and hold music. The agent was able to confirm exactly how to handle late-year payments that weren't reflected on my current 1098-T.
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ThunderBolt7
•How does this actually work? Feels kinda sketchy that someone can just magically get you through to the IRS when their lines are always jammed.
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Jamal Edwards
•Yeah right. I've been trying to reach the IRS for weeks. No way this actually works. Sounds like a scam to get desperate people's money.
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Zoe Papadakis
•It's not magical - they basically wait on hold for you. Their system calls the IRS and waits in the queue, then when an agent picks up, they connect the call to your phone. You don't have to sit there listening to hold music for hours. The skepticism is totally understandable. I felt the same way initially. But it's a legitimate service that saves you from having to personally wait on hold. They don't take any sensitive information - they just connect you to the IRS once they get through. I was able to talk directly to an IRS agent who answered my specific questions about education credits and expenses spanning tax years.
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Jamal Edwards
I have to eat my words from earlier. After being frustrated for weeks trying to reach the IRS, I decided to give Claimyr a shot out of desperation. Within about 40 minutes, I got a call connecting me to an actual IRS agent who helped clear up my confusion about my education expenses and 1098-T issues. The agent confirmed that I could claim my December payments on my current year taxes with proper documentation, regardless of what was reported on my 1098-T. Completely changed my understanding of how to handle my education credits. Seriously saved me hours of hold time and probably a significant amount on my taxes.
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Mei Chen
Something similar happened to me, but my school's financial aid office was actually super helpful! I just went in and asked them for a printout of all my payments for the calendar year, and they provided documentation that showed exactly when each payment was processed. Might be worth checking with your university's financial aid or bursar office to get complete documentation of all your payments.
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Liam O'Sullivan
•Do schools usually do this? My financial aid office is notoriously unhelpful and I'm worried they'll just tell me to look at my 1098-T.
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Mei Chen
•Most schools should be able to provide this information. It's part of your official payment record. Ask specifically for a "student account statement" or "payment history" covering the entire calendar year. If your financial aid office is unhelpful, try the bursar's office or student accounts department instead. Many schools also have online student portals where you can access and print this information yourself. Look for a section called "account activity" or "payment history" where you can set date ranges to cover the entire year.
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Amara Okonkwo
Just want to clarify something important - the 1098-T can be reported on either a payment basis or a billing basis depending on the school. Box 1 shows payments received and Box 2 shows amounts billed. Make sure you check which box your school is using because it makes a huge difference! My university switched from one method to the other between years and it confused the heck out of me.
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Giovanni Marino
•This!!! My school used to report in Box 2 (amounts billed) then switched to Box 1 (payments received) and I almost claimed the wrong amount. How can you tell which method they're using?
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Lucas Schmidt
•You can tell which method your school is using by looking at your 1098-T form directly. If there's an amount in Box 1 ("Payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses"), they're using the payment method. If there's an amount in Box 2 ("Amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses"), they're using the billing method. Only one of these boxes should have an amount - the other should be blank or zero. This is super important because it affects how you calculate your education credits!
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