1098-T Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement is a form that colleges and universities are required to issue to students who pay qualified tuition and related expenses in the preceding calendar year. Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses (QTRE) are amounts paid for tuition, fees and other related expenses for an eligible student that are required for enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution. QTRE’s do not include the costs of room and board, transportation, insurance, medical expenses, (including student health fees), student activities, and similar personal, living or family expenses, regardless of whether the fee must be paid to the eligible educational institution for the enrollment of the student at the institution.

You cannot claim a credit for education expenses paid with tax-free funds. You must reduce the amount of expenses paid with tax-free grants, scholarships, fellowships, and other tax-free education assstance.

The information being reported to the IRS verifies your enrollment with regard to certain eligibility criteria for tax benefits for higher education expenses. However, the enrollment information by itself does not establish eligibility for tax benefits for higher education expenses. A 1098-T form must also be provided to each applicable student, either electronically or in paper form, depending on the student’s preference.

Box 1: Payments Received for Qualified Tuition

Box 1 will report payments made toward QTRE in a calendar year. Health services, room and board, insurance, and transportation are not considered qualified education expenses by the IRS, so payments made toward these charges will not be reflected on the 1098-T. All other tuition and related expenses paid on the student’s account are reported in box 1 except for course-related books, supplies and equipment which are only allowed for the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) education tax credit.

Box 2: Blank

Box 2 is blank because the IRS determined that institutions could no longer continue to report amounts billed in box 2 for calendar year 2018 and beyond.

Box 4: Adjustments to Qualified Tuition from a Prior Reporting Period

Adjustments that resulted in a reduction of payments toward qualified tuition and related expenses reported on a prior year Form 1098-T will be reported in box 4. For example, if the University reports $500 in payments in 2021, but a student retroactively drops a course from 2021 in the 2022 year without fee liability, the dropped value will appear in box 4. 

Box 5: Scholarships and Grants Received
Box 5 reports the amount of all scholarships and grants disbursed in a calendar year towards the cost of attendance. Scholarships and grants are defined by the IRS, so may include items that you do not recognize as a scholarship or grant – for example, military benefits and payments from third party organizations. The amount reported in box 5 may exceed the amount reported in box 1.

Box 6: Adjustments to Scholarships and Grants Reported in a Prior Year
Similar to box 4, box 6 reports adjustments to previously reported scholarships and grants from a prior year. If a scholarship or grant is retroactively revoked, the value of the scholarship or grant will be reported in box 6.

To access your 1098-T Online:

If eligibility requirements are met, you may obtain your 1098-T form online by following these steps: (Note: You must consent to receive the 1098-T form electronically to view it online on My Fresno State.)

1. Sign in to My Fresno State at https://my.fresnostate.edu 
2. Click on Student Self Service/Student Center/My Finances/View 1098-T
3. Click on the Calendar Year to view and print the form 

Benefits of receiving the Form 1098-T electronically vs. through regular postal mail:

• Online delivery provides 24/7 access to the Form 1098-T
• Online delivery eliminates the chance that the Form 1098-T will get lost, misdirected or delayed during delivery, or misplaced once the student receives it
• Students can receive the Form 1098-T even while traveling or on assignment away from their mailing address

Receiving your 1098-T via USPS:

If you have not signed up to receive the 1098-T electronically, a paper form will be mailed to you at the mailing address you have on file with Fresno State at the end of January.

Try any of the following steps:

• Use a different browser (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox)
• Use a different device
• Disable pop-up blockers
• Clear your browser cache and cookies

Follow the steps outlined above and click on the Box Amount tab, then click on the amounts displayed to view 1098-T eligible tuition and fees. 

Yes. Section 65050S of the Internal Revenue Code, as enacted by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, requires institutions to file information returns to assist taxpayers and the IRS in determining the amount of qualified tuition and related expenses (qualified expenses) for which an education tax credit is allowable under section 25A (American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Education tax credits), as well as other tax benefits for higher education expenses.

You are not required to attach the IRS Form 1098-T to your tax return. The primary purpose of the 1098-T is to let you know that Fresno State has provided the required information to the IRS to assist them in determining who may be eligible to claim tax benefits for higher education expenses. There is no IRS requirement that you claim a tax benefit for higher education expenses.

The Student Accounts Office is not able to answer tax questions or offer legal advice. Please seek advice from the IRS or a tax professional. Information is also available in the IRS Publication 970 Tax Benefits for Education.

See sample on 1098-T Tuition Statement on the IRS website. 
Note: Documents in PDF format require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing.

An eligible taxpayer may claim them. An eligible taxpayer may be the student or, if the student is a dependent for federal income tax purposes, the person (e.g., parent) claiming the student as a dependent. A student who is a dependent cannot claim tax benefits for higher education expenses on their own tax return.

As required by FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), Fresno State cannot provide this information directly to parents, other persons who may claim the student as a dependent, or tax preparers. If you are claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax returns (such as your parent’s), the student needs to provide the Form 1098-T directly to that person.

Yes. Loan funds should be considered in the same manner as cash payments when calculating tax benefits for higher education expenses such as the American Opportunity or the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit or any other higher education tax benefit. However, any scholarships, grants or other non-taxable aid must be deducted from the amount of qualified tuition and related expenses paid.

According to IRS guidelines, Fresno State is not obligated to file the 1098-T Tuition Statement or furnish a statement for:

• Courses for which no academic credit is offered, even if the student is otherwise enrolled in a degree program.
• Nonresident alien students.
• Students whose qualified tuition and related expenses are entirely waived or paid entirely with scholarships.
• Students whose qualified tuition and related expenses are covered by a formal billing arrangement between an institution and the student's employer, third party or a government entity, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense.
• There were no payments in the calendar year. For example, many students register and pay prior to December 31st for the spring semester. Those payments are reported in the calendar year in which they were paid, which would be prior to January 1st of the following calendar year.  

This is because you did not provide a Social Security Number (SSN) or Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) to Fresno State. We solicit for the SSN/TIN at the time of admission, but it is not a required field on the application as it not a requirement for admission purposes. We then solicit again prior to December 31st each year, requesting the SSN/TIN for eligible students who do not have an SSN/TIN listed in our database. We request that students submit an IRS W-9S form to our office indicating their SSN/TIN, which is then given to the Registrar’s Office to update your record.

If you do not provide the SSN/TIN to us, then we are not able to report it. Please note that the IRS can impose a penalty on an individual who is required (but fails) to furnish their SSN/TIN to an institution or insurer.

A TIN is a taxpayer identification number issued by the IRS. An SSN is a TIN as well - but is issued by the Social Security Administration. Not all taxpayers are eligible for an SSN. One or the other can be used on the 1098-T form for taxpayer identification purposes.  More information about the W9-S form can be found on the IRS website.