1098-t, help please!

<p>We just received our dd's first 1098-t today and are confused of how to report it on our tax return. The school included both fall 2012 and spring 2013 tuition & qualified fees in box 2(billed amount), and put 2012 grant received from the college plus the outside scholarship that my dd received from 2012 in box 5. should we just report the portion of 2012 only or report whatever is in the 1098-t?</p>

<p>here are the figures:</p>

<p>Total billed amount:$43,050
Total scholarship/grant : $24,445
we paid out of packet to the school during 2012 based on the school bills: $5795
cost for books: about $300</p>

<p>can anyone please advise how to report this to maximize the AOC? I tried to plug the number in Turbotax, and it said my dd needs to file her own return for the entire scholarship/grant received. Please Please help! Thank you in advance!</p>

<p>I just looked at my 1098t and also have a question - the amount billed include tuition for both fall 2012 and spring 2013 but the scholarships only include fall 2012 (when I called they said that the spring 2013 one was credited in 2013 so it will be on next years.) So, this makes it look like I paid more in 2012 than I did?</p>

<p>I will include numbers to make it simple also</p>

<p>tuition for fall - $20,000 - scholarship for fall $10,000 - so I only paid $10,000
tuition for spring - $20,000 - scholarship for spring $10,000 - so I only paid $10,000</p>

<p>Total tuition out of my pocket in 2012 $20,000</p>

<p>1098- total tuition is listed as $40,000 and scholarships are listed at $10,000 making it look like I forked out $30,000 when I only paid $20,000</p>

<p>So how do I report all of this correctly on my tax return?</p>

<p>I wrote this in another thread but Box 7 states: “Check if box 2 includes amounts for academic period beginning January - March 2012”. It should be checked. There should be something with Supplemental Information on it. It might come with the 1098-T or it might be in the student’s admin account records. The supplemental report should indicate the expenses that should be applied to the 2013 return.</p>

<p>TurboTax asks for this information off your 1098-T and figures it out for you though it helps to use it in consecutive years so it can grab information from previous years automatically.</p>

<p>so eagle does this mean I do not include spring 2013 tuition paid on my 2012 return even though I actually paid it in 2012?</p>

<p>If you’re using tax software, it should figure it out for you by asking you questions. If you’re filling it out by hand, look at form 8863. </p>

<p>This is from the form 8863 directions:</p>

<p>You should receive Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement, from the
institution reporting either payments received in 2012 (box 1) or
amounts billed in 2012 (box 2). However, the amount in box 1 or
2 of Form 1098-T may be different from the amount you paid (or
are treated as having paid). In completing Form 8863, use only
the amounts you actually paid (plus any amounts you are treated
as having paid) in 2012 (reduced, as necessary, as described in
Adjusted Qualified Education Expenses, later). See chapters 2
and 3 of Pub. 970 for more information on Form 1098-T.</p>

<hr>

<p>I’m deliberately not giving tax advice here and pointing you to the forms, directions and your tax software.</p>