<p>I don't understand what is it and how it works. Can someone explain it to me? I've receive the 1098-T Tax Form from my college in the beginning of the month. Do I get money back or is something is reduced? Thanks!</p>
<p>It’s for tax purposes. You use it combined with your personal records of expenses paid to determine if any scholarships and grants are taxable to you (if they exceed qualified education expenses), and/or if you (generally your parents if you are below 24) are eligible for any education tax benefits.</p>
<p>See <a href=“http://www.fs.uci.edu/tra97/faqs/1098t.htm”>http://www.fs.uci.edu/tra97/faqs/1098t.htm</a>. 1098-T is to help you or your parents to figure out the qualified education expenses.</p>
<p>I received this from the bursar at my son’s college last year. Just change the dates to make it current for this year…</p>
<p>"Please allow me to explain the information contained on the form 1098-T and how that information is to be used to calculate an education tax credit or tax deduction.</p>
<p>As you know, educational institutions must report either payments received or amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses, but not both. We have chosen to report the amounts billed for qualified tuition and fees. With this method of reporting, the IRS instructs us to report the total amount billed during the calendar year. Box 7 on form 1098-T is a checkbox which is to be marked when the form contains qualified tuition and fees billed in 2012 which relate to an academic period that begins in January through March of 2013. This checkbox is the trigger to notify the IRS that payment could have been made in either tax year – 2012 or 2013. It is the taxpayer’s responsibility to provide payment records to support the year the tax credit or tax deduction was taken (if requested by the IRS). The IRS will allow a tax credit or a tax deduction in 2012 for payments made for a term that begins during the first three months of 2013.</p>
<p>The education tax credit or tax deduction is determined based on the date payment for qualified tuition and fees is made. It does not matter when the qualified tuition and fees were billed. Families must have their payment receipts and/or loan disbursement documents to support the date payment was made. Families should use the billing information contained on the 1098-T form in coordination with their payment records to accurately calculate their tax credit or tax deduction.</p>
<p>We billed spring semester in December because many families need time to budget. Additionally, many families have determined they can receive a larger tax benefit in 2012, for example, for paying the spring tuition in December. We want to provide that option to families. Those who want to wait until 2013 to remit payment can do so with no negative tax consequences."</p>
<p>Also this…"Federal financial aid guidelines prohibit the disbursement of financial aid funds until 10 days before the start of the term. January 4 was 10 days prior to the start of spring semester.</p>
<p>There is no matching process between Box 5 on the 1098-T and the 1040 federal individual tax return. The 1098-T Form is specifically to determine whether a student (or parents) can take Education Tax Credits. This 1098-T configuration happens every time Box 2 charges are billed in December and financial aid posts in January. Virtually every school using Box 2 shows double tuition during the freshman year and none the senior year. The IRS expects it. It’s not a problem."</p>
<p>Should I fill it out? I do still live with my parents. It’s a community college. I don’t work.</p>
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Do you mean your tax returns? I suggest you go to ask your parents or the tax person who is handling your parents’ tax returns.</p>
<p>My mom don’t do tax.</p>
<p>Why don’t your parents file taxes? What are the amounts in Box 1 or Box 2 and Box 5? Did you have income in 2013 from any jobs? If so how much?</p>
<p>To clarify, the 1098T isn’t a form you fill out. It’s a form the school sends to you or makes available online to you with amounts entered in the various boxes on the form.</p>
<p>My mom don’t do tax because she don’t work. Single parent.
Box 1: Empty.
Box 2: $4592.00.
Box 5: $5689.00.
I worked on a summer job for only a month. I don’t where would I find the income at.</p>
<p>What it means is that you have $1097 of potentially taxable income from scholarships and/or grants. Is box 7 checked? If you have receipts for any required books and supplies you purchased, you can subtract those amounts from the $1097. The good news is that your income is probably low enough to not be required to file a tax return. Was your summer job a regular job, that is, not under the table? If so, you should get a form W-2 from the company saying how much you earned. Or you could look at your last pay stub for now. Was any tax withheld from your pay? If so, you should file a return to get that amount back as a refund.</p>
<p>Box 7 is checked. My summer job was a regular part-time job. There were certainly tax withheld from my pay. Should I wait for them to mail it to me or give them a call? Thanks!</p>
<p>If box 7 is checked, some of the billed amounts in Box 2 are for spring semester 2014. Those billed amounts can’t be used to offset scholarships/grants credited in 2013. So you likely have more than the $1097 in taxable income. Can you tell from bills or your online school account if any of the Box 5 amount was credited in December for spring? Can you tell how much in expenses was billed in December for spring 2014 and how much was billed for fall 2013? In the end it still seems you won’t owe any tax but if you file for a refund you are going to have to figure out the taxable scholarship amount to report it properly.</p>
<p>Companies have until Jan. 31 to mail W-2 forms so give it about 10 more days to arrive.</p>
<p>Thank you for the answer.</p>