Reading Form 1098-T

Form 1098-T is the tuition statement your college sends after each calendar year, and it feeds into the education credits. Here is what the main boxes report, how to get your copy, and what to compare it against before you or a tax preparer rely on it.

Getting your copy

Schools send the form to students by the end of January for the year before. Many post it in the student portal and ask you to agree to electronic delivery, so look there before waiting for the mail. If a parent will claim the credit, they will need the information from your copy.

Schools can skip the form for some students, such as those whose tuition was fully covered by scholarships or who took only noncredit courses. If you expected a form and cannot find it, the bursar or student accounts office can tell you whether one was issued.

The boxes that carry the numbers

Box 1 shows payments the school received during the year for qualified tuition and related expenses. Box 5 shows scholarships and grants the school handled for you in that year, including federal grants such as the Pell Grant. Comparing those two boxes gives a rough sense of whether grants covered tuition or left part of it to you.

Boxes 4 and 6 report changes to an earlier year, such as a tuition refund or a scholarship added late. Box 7 is checked when Box 1 includes money for a term that begins in January through March of the next year. Box 8 marks at least half-time enrollment, and Box 9 marks a graduate student.

What to have beside your 1098-T

• Your student account statements for the year
• Receipts for books and course supplies
• Award letters showing scholarships and grants
• Last year's form, for any adjustments

Why the form is only a starting point

The form reports what moved through the school's accounts, and that can differ from what you are allowed to claim. Books and supplies bought elsewhere never appear on it, yet they can count toward the American Opportunity credit. Housing, meal plan and parking charges are left out of Box 1, because they count toward neither credit.

Timing also matters. A spring bill paid in December shows up in the year you paid it, and a scholarship may land in a different year from the tuition it covered. Your own student account statements show the actual dates, so keep them beside the form.

When something looks wrong

Contact the bursar or student accounts office first if a box seems off, such as a missing scholarship or a payment placed in the wrong year. The school can issue a corrected form when it finds an error. A VITA volunteer or the IRS can explain how to treat a figure that is correct but confusing.

Hold off on filing until the numbers make sense, since a credit claimed from a wrong figure may have to be fixed later with an amended return. The IRS instructions for the form and Publication 970 describe each box in more detail.