Tax Credit – 1098-T
When filing for taxes, you (or the person who claims you as a dependent) may be eligible to include educational expenses as a write-off. You may even receive credits toward your return that are specific to education.
See also:
Form 1098-T: Details of Your Education Expenses
The 1098-T Form shows your eligible payments made toward qualified educational expenses, and scholarships and grants received, from a particular calendar year. This will help you determine if you are eligible for the “Lifetime Learning Credit” or the “Hope Credit” when filing your taxes. The form will automatically be sent to you, according to the mailing preference you selected in FCI no later than January 31.
IRS Publication 970 on “Tax Benefits for Higher Education” provides additional information on education credits. Taxpayers file for these credits using IRS Form 8863.
Liberty does not issue a 1098-T form if:
- you are a nonresident alien
- you are enrolled in not-for-credit courses
- you didn’t provide us with your Social Security Number (SSN)
- you do not have an active address on file
See IRS Forms and Publications for more details. If you didn’t receive your 1098-T form, it may have been sent to an old or incorrectly provided address.
Qualified & Unqualified Expenses
Qualified charges include:
- Tuition
- Mandatory fees
Unqualified charges include:
- Expenses for any course or other education involving sports, games, or hobbies
- Unless the course or other education is part of the student’s degree program.
- Charges and fees associated with housing, food, student activities, athletics, insurance, books, equipment, transportation, and similar personal, living, or family expenses
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the IRS form 1098-T?
When will I receive my form 1098-T?
Why don’t the numbers on the form 1098-T equal the amounts I paid to Liberty University during the year?
My social security number (SSN) is incorrect or missing on my form 1098-T. Can a new form be sent to me?
I misplaced my copy of the form 1098-T. How can I receive a reprint of my form 1098-T?
Details of 1098-T Form
To view a detailed listing of the transactions that make up the amounts on the 1098-T form, log into ASIST and navigate to Student > Student Account > Tax Notification.
- Box 1 of Form 1098-T – Payment Amounts Received
- Shows the total payments received by an eligible educational institution in 2021 from any source for qualified tuition and related expenses less any reimbursements or refunds made during 2021 that relate to those payments received during 2021.
- Box 2 of Form 1098-T – Amounts Billed for Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses
- Reserved for future use
- Box 3 of Form 1098-T – Educational Institutional Changed Reporting Method
- Reserved for future use
- Box 4 of Form 1098-T – Adjustments Made for a Prior Year
- Shows any adjustment made by an eligible educational institution for a prior year for qualified tuition-related expenses and payments that were reported on a prior year Form 1098-T. This amount may reduce any allowable education credit that you claimed for the prior year (may result in an increase in tax liability for the year of the refund).
- Box 5 of Form 1098-T – Scholarships or Grants
- Shows the total of all scholarships and/or grants administered and processed by the eligible educational institution. The amount of scholarships or grants for the calendar year (including those not reported by the institution) may reduce the amount of the education credit you claim for the year.
- Box 6 of Form 1098-T – Adjustments to Scholarships or Grants for a Prior Year
- Shows adjustments to scholarships or grants for a prior year. This amount may affect the amount of any allowable tuition and fees deduction or education credit that you claimed for the prior year.
- Box 7 of Form 1098-T, if checked
- Shows whether the amount in Box 1 includes amounts for an academic period beginning January – March 2022.
- Box 8 of Form 1098-T
- Shows whether you are considered to be carrying at least one-half the normal full-time workload for your course of study at the reporting institution.
- Box 9 of Form 1098-T
- Shows whether you are considered to be enrolled in a program leading to a graduate degree, graduate-level certificate, or other recognized graduate-level educational credential.
IRS Filing
The primary purpose of the 1098-T form is to let you know what your educational expenses were for the year. Liberty University is required to provide this information to the IRS to assist them in determining if you are eligible to claim the tuition and fee deduction or an education credit.
You, or the person who may claim you as a dependent, may be able to take either the tuition and fees deduction or claim an educational credit on Form 1040 or 1040A for the qualified tuition and related expenses that were actually paid during the calendar year.
Have questions about taxes? Please contact a tax professional for assistance.
For questions regarding Form 1098-T, please e-mail studentaccounts1098@liberty.edu.