1098-T

The 1098-T is a statement that colleges and universities are required to issue to each student who is enrolled and for whom a reportable transaction is made.

The 1098-T provides tax information to both the taxpayer and the IRS which may be useful in determining eligibility for tax credits and/or deductions. Either the student or the person who claims the student as a dependent may be eligible for tax credits and/or deductions on his/her individual income tax return for qualified tuition and related expenses.

Please note the 1098-T may not provide all of the information you need to determine eligibility; you will also need your personal financial records. Eligibility for any tax benefit depends upon your individual facts and circumstances. The University cannot provide tax advice. Please consult the IRS or a tax professional to find out more about education credits and deductions and your eligibility.

Students and authorized users (if the student has been granted access) can access to view or print 1098-T forms online through the E-Bill System. Step-by-step instructions for accessing the 1098-T electronically can be found here. To protect private information Baylor will not email the 1098-T form. 

If a student no longer has access to the E-Bill System or the Authorized User is unable to view the 1098-T form in the E-Bill System, then the student will need to visit the Heartland ECSI website by clicking here. The 1098-T is prepared by Heartland ECSI, and their website allows former students to view both the current year’s form and those for prior years.

No, you are not required to attach the 1098-T form to your tax return since the 1098-T is not like the IRS Form W-2 obtained from your employer, which is required to be attached to the tax return filed with the IRS. 

No, you do not have to use your 1098-T information, not unless you want to claim an education credit. However, if your grant/scholarship amount (Box 5) is more than your tuition (Box 1) you may want to report it because excess scholarship money may be treated as taxable income on your return. 

For tax years 2018 and later, Box 1 shows payments received for Qualified Tuition Related Expenses (QTRE) during the calendar year. Payments from any source (scholarships, loans, personal payments) are counted with the exception of scholarships that are designated to pay non-qualified expenses (i.e., room, meals). Payments are reduced by any refunds issued during the year.

For tax years 2018 and later, in accordance with the IRS guidelines governing the 1098-T calculations, the amount in Box 1 is the lesser of the total QTRE billed, including any unpaid QTRE from a prior year, OR the total amount of payments received. 

All student account information is available in Baylor's E-Bill system at onestop.web.baylor.edu/ebill. 

For the purposes of 1098-T reporting, qualified expenses include “tuition, fees, and course materials required for a student to be enrolled at or attend” Baylor. Excluded from qualified expenses are charges for fees, room, meals, insurance, medical expenses, transportation, and similar personal expenses. 

For the purposes of claiming a tax credit, qualified expenses may include amounts paid for required books and supplies that were not paid to Baylor; refer to Instructions for Form 8863.

For the purposes of a Qualified Tuition Program (529 plan), qualified higher education expenses could in some circumstances include room, meals, or the purchase of a computer; refer to IRS Publication 970.

There are potentially many reasons for this discrepancy. First, the amount in Box 1 only represents amounts paid for qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) and does not include payments made for room and board, insurance, health service fees, or parking which, though important, are not considered mandatory education expenses for tax purposes. Secondly, Form 1098-T reports amounts the student paid in a certain year, and the pay date does not necessarily correspond to the dates the classes were attended. For example, tuition for the Spring 2022 semester was billed in December 2021, so a student may have paid tuition for the Spring semester in 2021 despite the fact that classes didn’t start until 2022.

For tax years prior to 2017, the IRS gave institutions the option to report payments received (Box 1), or amounts billed (Box 2) for qualified tuition and related expenses during the calendar year. Due to a change to institutional reporting requirements under federal law, beginning with tax year 2018, the University must report in Box 1 the amount of QTRE paid during the year. Therefore, Box 2 reporting is no longer available for tax years 2018 and later.

For Form 1098-T purposes, fellowships are considered financial aid and will be reported in Box 5 as a (scholarships, grants, fellowships). Form 1098-T reports activity occurring in the calendar year. 

Since insurance (both medical and dental) is not considered to be a qualified tuition and related expense, this expense is not reported on your Form 1098-T. However, if the University subsidizes the cost of your insurance then the University subsidy is reported in Box 5 of the Form 1098-T.

While your 1098-T has been prepared in accordance with IRS regulations and guidance, it is still an imperfect tax form and may not provide all of the information you need to claim a tax deduction or credit. See A15 below for instructions for viewing your account details from the E-Bill System.

Further, the amounts reported on your 1098-T are based on the calendar year in which entries are posted to the student account. As a result, there can be timing differences that do not necessarily have tax consequences. If you have any questions about what to do with the information reported to you, please consider consulting a tax professional.

Since our offices are closed from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day, students are strongly encouraged to submit all payments online via the E-Bill system to ensure payments are posted to the student account immediately. Any mailed payments will not be processed until after our office reopens after the New Year and may be subject to late fees. 

In the E-Bill System, select Account Activity under My Account to view all account activity by term. Users can search, sort, and export as needed. To produce a report of payments, select Payment History under My Account and choose a date range to view. For additional information, contact the Student Accounts Office.

Yes. Internal Revenue Code §6050S requires educational institutions to file information returns to assist taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service in determining eligibility for educational tax credits. The annual deadline for the University to file the required tax information electronically with the IRS is March 31, although data may be transmitted earlier as circumstances allow.

The reporting rules for Box 5 have not changed. Box 5 continues to include all scholarship payments (related to any term) which were processed during the calendar year. If you believe a scholarship reported in Box 5 was used to pay qualified expenses but was not reported in Box 1, please refer to your billing statements and/or account details in the E-Bill System for additional documentation, and, if needed, consult a tax professional.

Box 4 of Form 1098-T reports adjustments made to qualified tuition and related expenses reported on a prior year Form 1098-T. The amount reported in Box 4 represents a reduction in tuition billed during a prior calendar year.

Box 6 of Form 1098-T reports adjustments made to scholarships or grants reported on a prior year Form 1098-T in Box 5. The amount reported in Box 6 represents a reduction in scholarships or grants reported for a prior calendar year.

Under Baylor’s prior billing and due dates, Baylor students would eventually receive a 1098-T that had 1 extra term of aid without corresponding charges. Billing for the Spring term in January has moved the 1098-T with the “extra” term of aid from the last 1098-T a student would receive from Baylor to the 2022 1098-T. Under the new process, Baylor students beginning in Summer/Fall 2022 will receive 1098-T forms with term charges and aid posting in the same calendar year. 

The 1098-T as designed and regulated by the IRS does not contain all of the information needed to claim an education tax benefit. Most of the information needed must come from the student's personal financial records of what the student paid during the calendar year. Each taxpayer and his/her tax advisor must make the final determination of qualifying expenses, eligibility for a tax credit or deduction, and taxability of any scholarships received. The University cannot provide tax advice. 

For information regarding 1098-Ts for 2017 and earlier, click here.