What is Form 1098-T?
Form 1098-T is a tax document prepared by higher education institutions to report a student’s enrollment status, payments of qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE), and scholarships and grants disbursed during the calendar year. A copy of this information is also sent to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
What are qualified tuition and related expenses?
Qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) include UNH’s tuition, course fees, enrollment fees, and technology fees.
Housing expenses, meals, books, supplies, health insurance fees, and other fees not related to course enrollment are not reported on Form 1098-T.
What does each box on Form 1098-T report?
- Box 1 reports amounts paid for UNH tuition, course fees, enrollment fees, and technology fees during the calendar year. Box 1 may include payments made in the current calendar year for courses to be held at UNH during the upcoming calendar year (e.g., tuition paid in December 2021 for spring semester 2022 will be reported in Box 1 of Form 1098-T issued for calendar year 2021).
- Box 4 is for adjustments made for a prior year such as QTRE payments and/or reductions in charges for QTRE that relate to amounts billed from a prior year.
- Box 5 reports scholarships and grants disbursed during the calendar year. This amount includes all payments designated as scholarships and grants that are administered and processed by UNH Business Services, as well as all payments by third parties (i.e., government, private, civic, religious, and/or nonprofit grants) to offset the cost of attendance.
- Box 6 is for adjustments to scholarships or grants from a prior year.
- Box 7 is checked if any payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses reported for 2021 relate to an academic period that begins in January through March of 2022.
- Box 8 is checked if the student was at least a half-time student during any academic term that began in 2021. A half-time student is a student enrolled for at least half the full-time academic workload for the course of study the student is pursuing.
Please refer to the IRS FAQ on CARES Act funding for information related to Form 1098-T:
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/faqs-higher-education-emergency-relief-fund-and-emergency-financial-aid-grants-under-the-cares-act
Box 1 of my Form 1098-T does not equal the amount I paid to UNH for tuition during the year. Is this a mistake?
No - Box 1 reports amounts paid for QTRE during the calendar year (January to December of the previous year), as opposed to the academic year (September of the prior year to May of the current year) The form does not consider that tuition bills may be due in a different calendar year than the term dates. For example, tuition for the spring term is typically billed in December, so a student may have paid tuition for the spring term in December 2021, even though the classes did not commence until February 2022. The tuition paid for the spring term will be reported in Box 1 of the form issued for calendar year 2021.
I made a payment for the Spring 2022 semester, why isn’t Box 7 of my Form 1098-T checked?
Box 7 is checked if any payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses reported for 2021 relate to an academic period that begins in January through March of 2022. For example, Box 7 would be checked if a payment was posted to your account in December 2021 for the upcoming spring semester; the amount paid would be reported in Box 1, with Box 7 checked. Alternatively, if the payment for the spring semester posted in January 2022, then Box 7 would not be checked, as the payment was not made during calendar year 2021.
Who will receive a Form 1098-T?
UNH issues Form 1098-T only to degree-seeking students whose scholarships and grants do not exceed qualified tuition and related expenses for the calendar year. Copies of Form 1098-T are also filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Consistent with IRS regulations, UNH does not issue Form 1098-T to:
- students enrolled in courses that do not lead to a post-secondary degree (e.g. visiting students and exchange students)
- students whose QTRE is 100% covered by scholarships and grants
Note that Form 1098-T may be issued to international students upon request; a student’s SSN/ITIN must be on file to issue a Form 1098-T.
How will I receive my Form 1098-T?
UNH has contracted with GDIT TRA Service to provide both electronic and paper Form 1098-Ts. Form 1098-T is mailed to a student’s permanent mailing address in late January and is available 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. 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.
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 Form 1098-T can be processed correctly. If you need to update your personal information, please complete Form W-9S:
https://www.unh.edu/business-services/forms
Please fax, paper mail, or bring your completed Form W-9S to UNH Business Services (do not email a copy).
UNH Business Services
Stoke Hall
11 Garrison Avenue
Durham, NH 03824
Fax: (603) 862-2626
How do I use Form 1098-T?
The amounts reported on Form 1098-T may assist students in completing IRS Form 8863, which is used to calculate certain education tax credits that students may qualify for when filing their federal income tax returns. Depending on a student’s income (or family’s income, if a dependent), enrollment status (full-time or part-time), and/or the amount of qualified educational expenses for the year, students may be eligible for a federal education tax credit.
It is the student’s responsibility to maintain records of any scholarships, grants and other funding received in excess of tuition and fees during the calendar year, and to report these amounts on his or her individual income tax return if used for non-qualified expenses such as room and board, travel, and non-essential equipment.
There is an error on my Form 1098-T – how can I get a corrected copy?
Contact UNH Business Services: Business.Services@unh.edu.
What resources are available regarding questions on Form 1098-T?
Note: UNH cannot provide personal tax advice. Please contact a tax advisor for additional questions.
