Where do I enter my 1098-T information on my 1040 tax return as a student?

14 This would be reported on Form 8863 - Education Credits (American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Credits). The form will walk you through calculating your qualified expenses and any eligible credits. For your situation, subtract your scholarships/grants (box 5: $8,670.50) from your qualified expenses (box 1: $12,372.25). This gives you $3,701.75 in eligible expenses that could qualify for education credits. The American Opportunity Credit is usually better for undergraduate students in their first 4 years of college, while the Lifetime Learning Credit might be better for graduate students or those beyond their first 4 years. The form will help determine which one you qualify for. When you use tax software, it will ask about your education expenses and guide you through entering this 1098-T information. The software will automatically complete Form 8863 and carry any credit to the appropriate line on your 1040.

9 I was in this exact situation last year and spent hours trying to figure it out. I discovered this amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that made the whole 1098-T and education credits thing super simple. You just upload your 1098-T form and it analyzes exactly what education credits you qualify for and explains where everything needs to go. It told me I qualified for American Opportunity Credit even though I was about to just do the Lifetime Learning one which would have given me way less money back. The best part was it walked me through which expenses counted as qualified and which didn't, since my university had some weird fee categories that I wasn't sure about.

18 Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai! It was actually super helpful for my situation. I uploaded my 1098-T and it immediately identified that I was eligible for the American Opportunity Credit, which apparently can be partially refundable even if I don't owe taxes. The breakdown of qualified expenses was really clear - it explained that while my box 1 showed tuition payments, I needed to subtract my scholarships from box 5, but could include my textbook expenses (which weren't on the form). This gave me a much better understanding than just plugging numbers into TurboTax blindly. I ended up getting a $1,000 refund that I honestly didn't know I qualified for. Definitely recommend if you're confused about education credits!

22 If you need to get clarification from the IRS about your specific situation with the 1098-T, good luck getting through to them by phone! I spent THREE DAYS trying to reach someone at the IRS last month. Finally found a service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 30 minutes. They have this system that navigates the IRS phone tree and holds your place in line, then calls you when they have an agent. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c When I finally spoke with the agent, they confirmed exactly how to handle my education credits with my specific scholarship situation, which was different than what I thought. Saved me from potentially having issues with my return.

19 I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway since I was desperate to talk to someone about my 1098-T issues and kept getting busy signals when calling directly. To my surprise, it actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back in about 45 minutes saying they had an IRS agent on the line. The agent clarified that I could claim the American Opportunity Credit even though I had a scholarship covering part of my tuition, and explained exactly how to report it correctly on Form 8863. Would've spent another week trying to get through on my own. Sometimes you have to admit when you're wrong - this service saved me hours of frustration.

5 Just a heads up - make sure you're looking at the right 1098-T boxes! My school used box 1 for payments received, but some schools use box 2 for amounts billed instead. It matters which box your school uses because it affects how you calculate your qualified expenses. Also, don't forget you might be able to include textbooks and required course materials in your qualified expenses even though they don't show up on the 1098-T. Keep those receipts!

16 Does anyone know if I'm supposed to report my student loan payments anywhere on the tax return? I took out loans to pay the tuition that's shown on my 1098-T.

Just want to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - if your scholarships/grants exceed your qualified tuition and fees, the excess amount might be taxable income that you need to report on your tax return. In your case, you have $12,372.25 in qualified expenses and $8,670.50 in scholarships, so you're fine. But if it were the other way around, that excess would generally need to be reported as income on Line 1 of your 1040. Also, make sure you understand the difference between "qualified expenses" for tax purposes versus what your school considers qualified expenses. For education credits, qualified expenses are generally limited to tuition, required fees, and required course materials - things like room and board typically don't count even if they're part of your school bill. This is definitely one of those areas where it's worth double-checking everything or getting professional help if you're unsure, since mistakes can trigger IRS notices later.