Hey everyone! Just got my 1098-T from my university and noticed they put the wrong amount in Box 5 (scholarships or grants). It should be about $600, but they listed $10,000.
Will this mess up my taxes? I’m going to call the school and let them know, but I want to be prepared in case they brush me off and say it doesn’t need to be fixed.
Would love to know if this actually makes a difference before I deal with them. Thanks in advance!
Did they include any breakdown or explanation with the form? Sometimes schools include a statement showing how they calculated it.
Any chance you were charged for tuition, then got a scholarship applied later, and that’s what’s showing up? The amount on the form isn’t always what matters most, but the actual amount of scholarships and grants does. It can affect your eligibility for tax credits or even count as taxable income if the scholarships are more than your qualified education expenses.
@Abi
Exactly. Even if this doesn’t impact your taxes, the school still has to report the right numbers. That said, they might have calculated it correctly, so definitely ask them for a breakdown.
Dayton said: @Abi
Exactly. Even if this doesn’t impact your taxes, the school still has to report the right numbers. That said, they might have calculated it correctly, so definitely ask them for a breakdown.
Thanks! I’ll give them a call tomorrow and see what they say.
@Abi
They only sent the 1098-T, but I can see my tuition and payments in my student account. The reason I know it’s wrong is because my scholarship ended after Spring 2024. I was told I had to start paying out of pocket for Fall 2024.
After I paid my tuition for Fall 2024, the scholarship got applied to my account by mistake. A week later, the school realized and took it back. The $600 is from my Spring 2024 scholarship, and the $9,400 they added was the mistake from Fall 2024 that was later removed.
@Teo
Got it. Schools sometimes mistakenly apply late scholarships from one year to the next, even if they already accounted for it in the right year.
You can use your student account statement to figure out the real numbers when filing your return. The 1098-T is just a reference—it’s not reported directly on your tax forms.
@Abi
That makes sense, but if they were doing that, the amount would’ve been even higher. I also checked, and it was already included in my 2023 tax form.
Is Box 7 checked? The 1098-T can be tricky since schools often make you pay for spring tuition in December, meaning both tuition and scholarships can show up in the previous year’s tax info. Any chance the number includes a previous semester’s scholarship?
If it’s way off, definitely call the scholarship department.
Yep, Box 7 is checked. I only got a scholarship for Spring 2024. After that, I wasn’t eligible anymore, but they accidentally gave it to me again for Fall 2024 before realizing the mistake and taking it back.