1098-T Forms

The 1098-T form is used by eligible educational institutions to report information about their students to the IRS as required by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Eligible educational institutions are required to submit the student's name, address, taxpayer's identification number (TIN), enrollment status, amounts pertaining to qualified tuition and related expenses, and scholarships and/or grants, taxable or not. A 1098-T form must also be provided to each applicable student.

In January of each year, UVA provides secure electronic access to your 1098-T through SIS. IRS Form 1098-T is for all students who made a payment that was applied to qualified tuition and other related educational expenses during the previous calendar year. If students do not opt-in to access the form electronically, it is mailed at the end of January to the permanent home address the student has recorded in SIS.

If UVA did not receive a payment from any source that applied to qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) during the calendar year, a Form 1098-T will not be generated for you. Payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses include those applied to tuition, mandatory (comprehensive) fees, and off-grounds fees. Housing and dining charges or tuition for non-credit classes are not qualified tuition and related expenses.

Yes. Section 6050S of the Internal Revenue Code, as enacted by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, requires institutions to file information returns to assist taxpayers and the IRS in determining eligibility for the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning education tax credits.

UVA reports only payments received during the tax year in Box 1, in compliance with federal requirements; therefore, Box 2, Amount Billed for Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses, will show “0.00” on the printed 1098-T forms and will simply be blank on the electronic versions of the forms.

Please reference page 2 from the IRS Publication 970 "Tax Benefits for Higher Education":

Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement. When figuring an education credit or tuition and fees deduction, use only the amounts you paid and are deemed to have paid during the tax year for qualified education expenses. In most cases, the student should receive Form 1098-T from the eligible educational institution by January 31. An institution is required to report payments received during the calendar year (box 1) for qualified education expenses. However, the amounts on Form 1098-T, boxes 1 and 2, might be different than the amount you actually paid and are deemed to have paid.

For a complete list of qualified tuition and related educational expenses, please refer to Chapter 35 Education Credits. In general, qualified tuition and related expenses refer to tuition and required fees, such as school fees and lab fees, a student must pay to be enrolled at or attend an eligible education institution. Tuition waivers, scholarships and grants, outside sponsor payments are considered reductions to qualified tuition and expenses.

Qualified tuition and related expenses do not include:

1. Amounts paid for any course or education involving sports, games or hobbies unless the course or other education is required as part of the student's degree program or is taken to acquire or improve job skills.
2. Charges and fees for room, board, insurance, transportation, personal, living and other family expenses.
3. The cost of books and equipment are generally not qualified tuition and related expenses because eligible educational institutions usually do not require that the cost of the books or equipment be paid to the institution as a condition of the student's enrollment or attendance at the institution. However, some campuses may have a mandatory textbook fee or rental program which may be included as a qualified tuition and related expense.

Not necessarily. The University is required to provide the "amounts paid" and "scholarship or grant" figures to help you determine the amount of qualified expenses you can claim on your IRS Form 8863. Please review Internal Revenue Code Section 25A in IRS Publication 970 for information to determine your qualified expenses paid amount and consult with a tax professional as need be.

This information may be found through your Student Information System on your student account or online billing statement history. Students can access their account activity through UVAPay, or establish an authorized user to access this information. If you are a parent looking for this student information, please ask your student to establish you as an authorized user to provide this information.

Are there any resources in Charlottesville I can use to get help with my taxes?

While Student Financial Services does not offer tax preparation services and cannot provide tax advice of any kind, Madison House does offer support for tax information and filing during the tax season. Follow this link to see what they provide.

This box shows the amount of any tuition and fees reductions or payment activity in the current calendar year for charges that were reported in a previous calendar year.

The figure in Box 5 includes scholarships, grants and, if applicable, payments made by a third party under formal billing arrangements (i.e. outside scholarships, employer provided educational assistance (regardless of taxability), veterans payments, etc.) which have been administered by UVA. If you received other forms of outside scholarships and grants not administered by the UVA, for example, it is your responsibility to adjust the figure accordingly. Third party payments do not include payments made by your parent or other individuals.

UVA does not determine whether your education benefits are being taxed by your employer. As such, scholarship and grant amounts include the full amount of any employer provided payments under a formal billing arrangement, and it is the responsibility of the student to adjust their qualified tuition and related expenses accordingly based on the taxability of their employer benefits. For questions, we suggest you contact your employer’s human resources office for assistance.

This box shows the amount of any scholarship, grant, and if applicable, third party reductions in the current calendar year for aid that was credited in a previous calendar year.

Box 8 will not be checked if you were not enrolled in at least half-time status during an academic period which is either enrolled or billed during the calendar year. UVA checks this box if you were half-time or more for at least one term that began during the calendar year and for which there was payment activity. This information may be useful in determining eligibility for the American Opportunity Credit.

Box 9 will be checked if you were enrolled as a graduate student for at least one academic period during the calendar year. If Box 9 is checked, it alerts the IRS to the fact that the American Opportunity Credit may not be allowable for the student's qualified expenses.

The single most important information on the form is your Social Security Number. You must submit a written request to change or correct your SSN by mail or in person to the Registrar's Office. You may be required to supply a signed, legible copy of your Social Security card.

Generally, foreign students cannot claim a credit. However, some foreign students may be eligible. For example, non-resident aliens are not eligible until they obtain a valid taxpayer identification number. Please review IRS forms, instructions, and publications for guidance. You may also refer to the UVA Human Resources page on foreign national taxation services.

If you agreed to access the electronic version of the 1098-T through SIS, you will not receive a paper 1098-T in the mail. If your permanent address in SIS is incorrect, the paper 1098-T form will be returned to the University and not resent. You will need to access the form electronically through SIS.

Your name is a key element on your tax information. Please visit the University Registrar’s website to access the form to complete this change.

No. The address shown on Form 1098-T is irrelevant for IRS income tax filing purposes. However, you should update your address in SIS so that the University has up-to-date information.

You can securely electronically access a copy of your 1098-T through UVAPay at any time. Students access UVAPay through their SIS account, and authorized users access it at https://virginia.myonplanu.com/login. If students have trouble accessing their 1098-T, they can call or email SFS at (434) 982-6000 or [email protected].

This is possible because your spring 529 credit posted in the prior calendar year and was reported on your prior year 1098-T. Box 7 on your prior year 1098-T was checked, indicating that qualified tuition and related expenses for a term starting between January and March were credited in the prior year.