what information is included on a 1098-t form?

A 1098-T is a tuition statement from your school that reports your yearly education-related activity to you and the IRS so you can figure out education credits and deductions.

Quick Scoop

Here’s what information is typically included on a 1098‑T form:

• School’s name, address, and tax identification number (TIN).

• Student’s name, address, and taxpayer identification number (often SSN).

• Tax year the form covers.

Key numbered boxes

• Box 1 – Payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses
  Total qualified tuition and related fees paid to the school during the calendar year (after certain refunds).

• Box 2 – Amounts billed
  Historically showed amounts billed for tuition and related expenses; current forms generally leave this box blank and only use Box 1, but older explanations still reference it.

• Box 3 – Reporting method change checkbox
  Indicates if the school changed its reporting method (for example, from “amounts billed” to “amounts paid”) since the prior year.

• Box 4 – Adjustments for a prior year
  Reductions or changes to previously reported qualified tuition/fees from an earlier year, which can affect prior-year education credits.

• Box 5 – Scholarships or grants
  Total scholarships and grants the school processed for you during the year (whether applied to tuition or refunded to you).

• Box 6 – Adjustments to prior-year scholarships or grants
  Changes to scholarship or grant amounts that were reported in a previous year, which can affect prior-year credits.

• Box 7 – Checkbox for amounts for a future term
  Shows if Box 1 includes payments for an academic period starting in the first three months of the next year (for example, spring term paid in December).

• Box 8 – At least half-time student?
  Indicates whether you were at least a half‑time student in any academic term that year, which matters for certain credits.

• Box 9 – Graduate student?
  Indicates whether you were enrolled in a graduate‑level program, which can affect which credits you qualify for.

• Box 10 – Insurance reimbursements or refunds
  Amount of tuition reimbursements or refunds made by an insurer (for example, tuition insurance if you had to withdraw).

Other useful context

• The form is issued by “eligible educational institutions” (most colleges, universities, and some vocational schools) that receive qualified tuition and related expense payments on your behalf.

• You use the 1098‑T to help figure education tax benefits like the American Opportunity Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit on your tax return, usually via Form 8863.

• The 1098‑T itself is generally not filed with your return; you keep it as documentation and enter the information into your tax software or give it to your preparer.

Tiny example

Imagine you paid 8,000 in qualified tuition, got 3,000 in scholarships, and paid 2,000 of next spring’s tuition in December. Your 1098‑T might show:

• Box 1: 10,000 (8,000 current year + 2,000 next term)
• Box 5: 3,000 (scholarships/grants)
• Box 7: Checked (because some of Box 1 is for next year’s term)

At the bottom:

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.