Tax Information & 1098-T

A Notice to UNH Students Regarding Tax Credits

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Due to the passage of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, many taxpayers are now able to claim tax credits for higher education costs through the Lifetime Learning Credit or the American Opportunity Tax Credit.

Eligibility for these tax credits is affected by family adjusted gross income, amounts of qualified educational charges paid, and enrollment status.

Only payments made for the appropriate tax (calendar) year for qualified educational charges will be eligible for tax credits on your current year tax forms. For example: only payments made in calendar year 2016 may be used when filing 2016 taxes.

Qualified educational charges include tuition, course fees, enrollment fees, and technology fees. We understand that room, board, a portion of mandatory fees, and health insurance expenses are not qualifying charges for these tax credits. The University does not provide personal tax advice. We suggest you contact a qualified tax advisor if you need additional information.

About the 1098-T Form

In late January 1098-T forms are mailed to students' permanent mailing addresses. These forms show enrollment status, eligible charges billed, and scholarships or grants processed in the applicable tax year. A copy of this information is also sent to the Internal Revenue Service. Please ensure that the student's Social Security Number (SSN) or Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and permanent mailing address is up-to-date so that the 1098-T form can be processed correctly.

How to get the form online

UNH has contracted with GDIT TRA Service to provide both the electronic and paper 1098-Ts. You may retrieve your 1098-T electronically by visiting GDIT at https://tra.vangent.com. If you have not already created an account on the GDIT site, please click on the "First Time Students" button and follow the instructions to create an account.

The Financial Detail Page

The reverse side of the 1098-T form will show financial details from your student account for the applicable tax year. It will show qualified educational charges, as well as a summary of payments, grants, scholarships, loans, and refunds applied to your account during the tax year. These financial details are for your use and will NOT be sent to the Internal Revenue Service. 

Additional Notes

  • Mandatory fees for Durham full-time students are shown lower than the actual amount charged because IRS regulations do not allow the Health Services fee or student health insurance as qualified charges.

  • November charges listed on your Financial Detail Page will show the first day of spring semester as the effective date.

  • Link to an IRS article on late tax changes: Special Steps Needed for Paper 1040 Filers to Claim Late Tax Changes.

  • Education credits are computed on IRS Form 8863. To complete this form, you will need to know the amount of qualifying education expenses paid during the calendar year which corresponds to the year on your tax form. This can be determined by analyzing the Payments section of the Financial Detail page located on the reverse side of Form 1098-T. This section includes all payments made on your behalf in that calendar year, regardless of when the charges were billed.

  • Eligible payments could include those made for qualifying charges billed in the applicable tax year. Since charges and scholarships processed during the applicable tax year are not reported on your current 1098-T, you may view these amounts through myUNH or the UNH Parent Portal.

You may obtain further information about these tax credits and student loan interest deductions by calling the IRS at (800) 829-1040 or by visiting the IRS website - https://www.irs.gov/individuals/education-credits