1098-T Tax Documents
Under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, certain tax benefits may be available to students who have incurred qualified expenses for higher education. The 1098-T form will display the tuition payments of qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) including grants or scholarships posted to your student account from January 1 to December 31 of the previous academic period. Saint Peter’s University will mail the 1098-T form annually by January 31 for former students to the address listed on file.
If you wish to change your address, complete a CHANGE OF INFORMATION (former students) and submit electronically no later than January 3. Please note because of a change in statute, beginning in January 2019, colleges and universities will no longer be able to report amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) in Box 2 of their 1098-T forms. Instead, institutions are required to report payments of QTRE in Box 1.
ENROLLED STUDENTS: To view and obtain your 1098-T for a specific tax year log in to SPIRIT Online self service (Click on Financial Information then Tax Information for 1098-Ts).
The Federal government requires that the University must have the Social Security or Tax Identification number information to issue a 1098-T form. If this information is not on file, please complete and submit the IRS Form W-9S to the Enrollment Services no later than January 3.
Frequently Asked Questions
I did not receive my 1098-T or I misplaced it. Can I get another copy?
You can print an electronic version of 1098-T using SPIRIT Online self service or you can contact Enrollment Services for Student Accounts at (201) 761-7440.
Why didn’t I qualify to receive a 1098-T?
The University in not required, by the IRS, to furnish a Form 1098-T in the following instances:
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Payments for courses for which no academic credit is offered, even if the student is otherwise enrolled in a degree program.
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Enrolled student is a nonresident alien without a TIN or Social Security number.
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Students whose qualified tuition and related expenses are entirely waived or paid entirely with grants/scholarships.
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Students for whom you do not maintain a separate financial account and whose qualified tuition and related expenses are covered by a formal billing arrangement between an institution and the student’s employer or a governmental entity, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense.
I graduated in May but did not receive a 1098-T? Why did I not receive a 1098-T?
The information on form 1098-T, for years prior to this tax year, was based on the amounts billed in the calendar year. Charges for the Spring semester are typically billed in November or December. Therefore, these amounts would have been reported on the prior year’s 1098-T form.
Why don’t the numbers on Form 1098-T equal the amounts I paid to Saint Peter’s during the year?
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 that the student paid in a certain year, and the pay date does not necessarily correspond to the dates that the classes were attended. For example, tuition for the Spring semester is typically billed in December so a student may have paid tuition for the Spring semester in 2020 despite the fact that classes didn’t start until 2021. The best and most accurate source of information about the amounts that you paid for qualified tuition and related expenses will be your Billing Statements.
What semesters are included in my Form 1098-T?
Typically, charges are posted to your student account in December for the Spring semester and in June for the Fall semester. Box 1 of Form 1098-T reflects payments made during the calendar year for qualified tuition and related expenses and it is not based on when the classes were attended or billed to the student account. Your Billing Statement will show the dates payments were posted to your account and are a valuable resource for determining the semesters that are included in your Form 1098-T. You can access your Billing Statements by logging into SPIRIT Online self service.
1098-T and Your Tax Return
You are not required to attach IRS Form 1098-T to your tax return. The IRS Form 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. The primary purpose of the IRS Form 1098-T is to let you know that Saint Peter’s University has provided required information to the IRS to assist them in determining who may be eligible to claim the tuition and fee deduction or an education credit.
Can Saint Peter’s University help me with tax advice?
We are not qualified to assist you with tax advice. For further tax advice and assistance in determining how to report this information on your tax return, please refer to IRS Publication 970 or consult a licensed tax preparer.