Do what the instruction booklet says, and claim it for 2005.
I don't know why schools are allowed to put such useless
information on form 1098-T, but they are. If you are
audited, hopefully you can come up with some evidence that
you paid tuition in 2005 (The 1098-T, which, as I mentioned,
is useless, is not evidence that you paid anything).

P.S. You probably want to see Publication 970 if you haven't
already. Many tuition-paying taxpayers benefit more from the
Hope or Lifetime Learning credits than from the tuition and
fees deduction.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

heptisb[at]hotmail.com (ehw6) posted:

- quote -

Strangely enough, the tax instructions usually mean exactly
what they say. So "Qualified tuition and fees are amounts
paid in 2005 for tuition and fees required for the student's
enrollment or attanedance at an eligible educational
institution during 2005" means that your payments are
indeed, _Qualified_, as you have described the situation.

Form 1098 is not the sole evidence for the payment. You
should either have a cancelled check, or be able to receive
a statement of your account from the institution's bursar or
admissions office -- either of which would provide ample
evidence (if it were ever needed).

Bill ;-)

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

Hi, I have a question on tuition and fees for tax deduction.
My tuition and fees for Spring 2005 was charged in Dec 2004
but paid in Jan 2005. Since it was charged in 2004, it
appeared in my 2004 1098-T form instead of the 2005 1098-T.
Can I claim that amount in my 2005 tax return? I couldn't
claim it in the 2004 tax return. The 2005 form 1040
instructions booklet say "Qualified tuition and fees are
amounts paid in 2005 for tuition and fees required for the
student's enrollment or attendance at an eligible
educational institution during 2005." It doesn't even
mention 1098-T. But form 1098-T is the sole evidence for
the payment for tuition and fees. So I don't know how to
handle this case. Please educate me on this. Thanks a lot.

Wen

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >