Can I claim my tuition payment on this year's taxes?

February 12, 2008 8:12 AM

I attended my last semester of college in the spring of this previous year and paid about $6k in tuition, some in January and some in February. When I got my 1080-T from my university, though, it said that I could only claim $414 (about one credit's worth) on my taxes for this year. It seems like this is because they billed me for the semester before the end of 2006, and put it on my 1080-T for last year. Since I actually paid them this year, though, can I claim it on this year's taxes?

I didn't claim any of the tuition on my taxes last year. I'm paying taxes in Massachusetts (where I also attended college), if that changes anything, and my income for this past year is well under $40k. This makes a fairly significant difference in my rebate, so if there's any way that I can do this I would like to.

Also, does my university send the information in my 1080-T to the IRS? Will I need to talk to them if I'm going to claim it on this year's taxes?

Thanks!

posted by drdevice to Work & Money (4 answers total)

Best answer: You claim it for the year in which you actually pay it. There are certain conditions though, like it has to be actual tuition, you can't have gotten a scholarship, etc. etc.

Check out Publication 970 for all or the fun details.
posted by hazyspring at 9:04 AM on February 12, 2008

You might also be able to file an amended return for 2006, if that will help you out and you can't manage things otherwise.
posted by that girl at 9:12 AM on February 12, 2008

Call the cashier of your school and explain the situation to them: I am sure that this is an issue they deal with on a regular basis, and they can reissue the 1080-T for you. My parents have been in an almost identical situation before with my tuition, and it turned out that school officials can be surprisingly accommodating.
posted by halogen at 10:05 AM on February 12, 2008

Don't you mean 1098-T? Anyway, when I was in school a few years ago, the school sent out 1098-Ts that were blank; the following year, they had bogus numbers on them (not related to the actual tuition and fees I had paid). I think they're just a way for the school to notify the IRS that you were really a student in 2007.
posted by Dec One at 10:33 AM on February 12, 2008