Why did my son receive a 1098-T Box 4 amount after withdrawing from college?

This is actually pretty common! Box 4 on a 1098-T shows "Adjustments made for a prior year." This means the school processed some kind of change to your son's account in 2023 that related back to his 2022 attendance. The most likely explanation is that some scholarship, grant money, or financial aid was applied to his account retroactively in 2023 for the 2022 fall semester. When this happens, the school must report it on a 1098-T for the year they made the adjustment (2023), even though it relates to a prior year. Since you didn't claim any education tax credits for 2022, you probably don't need to worry about amending that return. However, I'd recommend calling the school's bursar office (not financial aid) to confirm exactly what this adjustment was. They can tell you if it was just an accounting correction or if it represents actual money that impacted your son's account.

I went through something similar with my daughter last year and it was super confusing. I finally got it sorted with help from taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). I uploaded her 1098-T forms from both years and her school account statements, and they explained exactly what was happening with the Box 4 amount. In my case, it turned out the university had processed a late scholarship in the new year that applied to the previous year's tuition. The analysis showed I didn't need to amend my previous return since I hadn't claimed any education credits, which saved me a ton of stress.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai for my son's weird 1098-T situation and it was actually super helpful! Uploaded his forms and our previous return, and got a clear explanation within minutes. In our case, the Box 4 amount was because the school had retroactively applied part of his housing deposit as a credit to his fall tuition after he didn't return for spring. Since we hadn't claimed education credits, they confirmed we didn't need to amend anything. Saved me hours of being on hold with the university financial office!

If you're having trouble reaching the school's financial aid office, I'd recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation with my daughter's 1098-T and couldn't get anyone on the phone at her university for weeks. Claimyr got me connected to an actual person in the bursar's office in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was shocked at how well it worked. The university staff explained that the Box 4 amount on my daughter's form was due to a retroactive adjustment of her financial aid package. Having an actual conversation saved me so much confusion compared to trying to figure it out from their cryptic emails.

I was seriously skeptical about Claimyr but I tried it yesterday after seeing this thread. I was about to give up on getting an explanation for my son's 1098-T Box 4 situation. I'm genuinely surprised - it actually worked! They called the university's bursar office, waited through about 35 minutes of hold time (which I didn't have to listen to), and then connected me with a student accounts specialist. The person explained that the Box 4 amount was from a retroactive cancellation of a lab fee after my son withdrew, which is why it showed up on a 2023 form even though he left in 2022. For anyone struggling to get someone on the phone to explain these confusing tax forms, it's definitely worth trying.

Just wanted to add - make sure you look at your son's student account statement too, not just the 1098-T. Box 4 should correspond to something on his account. Check for any credits or adjustments that were processed in 2023 but affected his 2022 charges. Also, if your son received scholarships in 2022 that exceeded tuition, that excess might have been returned in 2023, which could explain the Box 4 amount. Were there any refunds to his bank account that you might not have known about?

I work in a university billing office (not financial aid) and can tell you this happens all the time! When a student withdraws mid-year, there are often adjustments that happen in the following calendar year. Some common reasons for a Box 4 amount with blank boxes elsewhere: - Housing deposit applied retroactively to tuition - Scholarship or grant adjusted after the calendar year ended - Fee refunds processed in the new year - Dropped class adjustments that happened after December 31 - Corrections to prior billing errors The school is required to report these adjustments on a 1098-T for the year they were processed, even if the student is no longer enrolled. But since you didn't claim education credits for 2022, you probably don't need to worry about it from a tax perspective!