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 payments made less refunds; 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.maximus.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 eligible payments and refunds, grants, and scholarships, 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 students are shown lower than the actual amount charged because IRS regulations do not allow the Health Services fees or student health insurance as qualified charges.
  • Education credits are computed on IRS Form 8863 (pdf).  To complete the 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.
  • Eligible payments include those made for qualifying charges billed in the applicable tax year, less refunds. 
  • The amounts in Box 1 are limited to the amount of qualifying charges (QTRE) billed during the tax year, less refunds.
  • You may refer to MyUNH or UNH Parent Portal to view the full semester charges, payments, grants and scholarships, and refunds applied to the student account.
  • 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