Form 1098-T Instructions & Tax Reporting Pointers

What You Need to Know About Form 1098-T

The 1098-T is used to report certain information about students to the IRS. It captures the student’s name, address, taxpayer identification number (TIN), enrollment and academic status. It must be filed for each student enrolled and for whom a reportable transaction is made.

Insurers also must file a 1098-T for each individual to whom reimbursements or refunds of qualified tuition and related expenses are made.

Applicable businesses: Colleges, universities and other eligible educational institutions. Insurer engaged in a trade or business of funding tuition.

When to file: 1098-T forms must be mailed to recipients by January 31, and e-filed with the IRS by March 31 each year.

Exceptions do exist. An organization doesn’t need to file form 1098-T or furnish a statement for:

• Courses in which no academic credit is offered
• Nonresident alien students, unless requested by the student
• Students whose qualified tuition and related expenses are paid for entirely by scholarships or otherwise entirely waived
• Students whose qualified tuition and related expenses are paid for by a formal billing arrangement with the student’s employer or a government entity, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense