Useful info for 1098-T

mcat2
Mon, 28 Mar 2016 18:55:55 +0000

I think if you think it in the following way, it could make more sense to you:

The qualified education expenses for the tax year 2015 = qualified education expenses paid in 2015 for an academic period beginning in 2015 or in the first 3 months of 2016.

In another word: As far as the education credit is concerned in your tax return, your tax year really starts from April of the tax year, to the March of the year after the tax year. (because it roughly corresponds to the academic year.)

Why only the first 3 months? Because you are supposed to file your tax return in April! See how IRS hacks the tax code here?! A lot of tax accountants seem to suggest that you throw away the 1098-T (because it is useless!) and find out all the information you need (and keep it as your documents) from your account history at your school – and cross your finger that when you get audited by IRS, the auditor from IRS is competent and knows what he/she is doing (rather than just reading what is in 1098-T as it is, as if it contains all the info for that tax year. In reality: what is shown in the 1098-T for the tax year N is meant to be used for your tax year N-1 – and the info is delivered to you one year late!