Explanation of IRS Form 1098-T

Box 1 of Form 1098-T reports the qualified tuition and related expenses paid during the calendar year. Qualified tuition and related expenses are sometimes referred to as qualified education expenses, although the terms are not always interchangeable. For purposes of the Form 1098-T provided by Saint Louis University, the following categories of charges are included or not included in qualified tuition and related expense:

Included Expenses

• Resident and non-resident tuition
• Program specific charges
• Required general fees
• Bookstore charges
• University fee
• Student activity fee
• Required course fees (including the Standard Flight Fee for Flight courses)

Expenses Not-Included

• Housing related charges
• Dining, meal plans (including Spain Cafeteria Fee)
• Insurance
• Late fees, interest or payment-enrollment fees
• Library fines, fees
• Orientation fees
•  Parking permit or fines
• Late registration fees
• Remission fees
• Additional Flight charges (including Overage, Refresher, Retake, etc)

Please note that the timing of each charge and payment/scholarship are important regarding which year they are reported in. Many students have spring tuition charges assessed in December, whereas the financial aid received does not disburse until January. Because of the requirements to report activity within the calendar year, this could mean that the Qualifying Tuition and Related Expenses for Spring are reported under one tax year, and the Spring financial aid included under the following tax year. Please consult a tax prepared regarding what this means to your individual tax situation.

 Not Used

Box 4 of Form 1098-T reports adjustments made to qualified tuition and related expenses reported on a prior year Form 1098-T in Box 1. The amount reported in Box 4 represents a reduction in tuition paid during a prior calendar year. For example, if you paid Spring semester classes in December and withdrew from classes in January which resulted in a refund, Box 4 reports the decrease in paid tuition due to the withdrawal. The amount reported in Box 4 for adjustments to qualified tuition and related expenses may reduce any allowable education credit you may claim for the prior year. See IRS Form 8863 or IRS Publication 970 for more information.

Box 5 of Form 1098-T reports the net amount of certain forms of educational assistance that were received or applied to your student account during the most recent calendar year, regardless of the quarter for which the funds originally were intended. Scholarships and grants may be paid directly to the student or may be in the form of direct tuition reductions. Per IRS instruction, Veteran's Education Benefit amounts received are included in Box 5.

The amount reported in Box 5 does not include:

• Student loans
• Work study
• Employment
• Scholarships, grants, reimbursements or other types of sponsorships not administered by Saint Louis University
• Americorp Scholarships/Grants that are applied specifically towards non-qualifying charges (like housing, insurance, or stipend awards)

Box 6 of Form 1098-T reports adjustments made to scholarships or grants reported on a prior year Form 1098-T in Box 5. The amount reported in Box 6 represents a reduction in scholarships or grants reported for a prior calendar year. The amount reported in Box 6 for adjustments to scholarships or grants may affect the amount of any allowable tuition and fees deduction or education credit you may claim for the prior year. See IRS Form 8863 for how to report these amounts. This is for adjustments to scholarships and grants that were granted any time prior to the most recent calendar year.

Box 7 indicates, if checked, that Box 1 includes amounts for an academic period beginning in the next calendar year. For example, if you registered and paid for the upcoming Spring semester during November or December, this box will be marked. If this box is checked, then “payments received” in Box 1 includes “pre-paid fees.” Pre-paid fees are those Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses paid during the most recent calendar year for the academic quarter that begins in the next year.

Box 8 shows whether you are considered to be at least one-half of the normal full-time workload for at least one academic period during the calendar year. If this box is marked, you meet one of the requirements for the Hope tax credit. You do not have to meet the workload requirement to qualify for the tuition and fee deduction or the lifetime learning credit.

Box 9 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. If you are enrolled in a graduate program, you are not eligible for the American Opportunity credit, but you may qualify for the tuition and fee deduction or the lifetime learning credit.

The 1098-T form is used by eligible educational institutions to report information about their students to the IRS as required by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Eligible educational institutions are required to submit the student’s name, address, and taxpayer’s identification number (TIN), enrollment and academic status. Beginning with 2003, educational institutions must also report amounts to the IRS pertaining to qualified tuition and related expenses, as well as scholarships and/or grants, taxable or not. A 1098-T form must also be provided to each applicable student. This form is informational only. It serves to alert students that they may be eligible for federal income tax education deductions or credits. It should not be considered as tax opinion or advice. While it is a good starting point, the 1098-T, as designed and regulated by the IRS, does not contain all of the information needed to claim a tax deduction or credit. There is no IRS requirement that you must claim the tuition and fees deduction or an education credit. Claiming education tax benefits is a voluntary decision for those who may qualify. Filers may also utilize Account Summaries or Billing Statements as documentation of student account activity in a given calendar year. This information can be downloaded from the Payment Suite (BillPay for authorized users).

Physical forms will be mailed no later than January 31st for students with active addresses on file. In addition, 1098-T forms will be available for viewing/downloading in the MySLU Portal any time after January 31st. Students may also access historical copies from previous years in the same location.

Box 1 reports payments received from all sources for qualified tuition and related expenses for the calendar year. Qualified expenses do not include charges for housing, meal plans, transportation, and personal expenses. Payments received are first applied to qualified tuition and related expenses. Once qualified tuition and related expenses are paid for, any remaining balance/payments are applied to room, board, and other fees. For example, if a payment of $5,000 was received in December 2022 for Spring 2023 tuition and fees, the $5,000 will be applied in full towards qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) first and thus reported in the 2022 1098T.

In January of each year, Saint Louis University sends an IRS Form 1098-T to all students who had qualified tuition and other related educational expenses billed to them during the previous calendar year. This form is informational only and should not be considered as tax opinion or advice. It serves to alert students that they may be eligible for federal income tax education deductions or credits. Receipt of Form 1098-T does not indicate eligibility for a deduction or tax credit. To determine the amount of qualified tuition and fees paid, and the amount of scholarships and grants received, a taxpayer should use their own financial records. NOTE: It is up to each taxpayer to determine eligibility for the credits and how to calculate them.

To obtain a copy of your 1098-T form, log into your MySLU Portal Account.

The amount in Box 1 has only amounts paid for qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) and does not include payments received for housing, meal plans, library fines, parking citations/permits, insurance, or health services fees as these fees are not considered related education expenses. Furthermore, 1098-T forms report amounts that the student paid in a particular calendar year, and the pay date does not necessarily correspond to the dates that the classes were attended. For example, tuition for spring semester is billed in December so a student may have paid tuition for spring semester at the end of one year despite the fact that classes did not start until January of the following year. The best and most accurate source of information about the amounts that you paid for qualified tuition and related expenses will be your statements and account activity located in the Payment Suite application in your mySLU portal. If you no longer have access to your mySLU portal, please reach out to Student Financial Services at stdaccts@slu.edu to request access.

Some May graduates will not be issued a Form 1098-T for the current year because there is a possibility that payments for QTRE were made on or before December 31 of the previous year. The current spring semester tuition charges are generally billed and posted in December of the previous year and, therefore, would have been included on the previous year’s 1098-T form, in Box 1.

If a student paid for the current Spring semester and any other outstanding QTRE charges in the previous year, then the student would not receive a 1098-T Form for the current year.

SLU was not required to send you a form.

Yes. Section 6050S 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 Internal Revenue Service in determining eligibility for the Hope and Lifetime Learning education tax credits. Forms are uploaded electronically to the IRS website at the end of March of each year for the previous tax year.

Qualified tuition and related expenses for calculating tax credits/deductions:

• Tuition fees required for enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution (any accredited public, nonprofit, or proprietary postsecondary institution—including Saint Louis University)
• Books, supplies and equipment needed for a course of study

For more information about qualified educational expenses please go to: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch35.html#d0e74760

For more information, please visit http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch35.html. 

No. The address shown on Form 1098-T is irrelevant for IRS income tax filing purposes. The single most important information on the form is your Social Security Number.

If you did not receive a 1098-T or misplaced the form, log in to the MySLU Portal, click the “Tax Forms” tab to access any available 1098-T form. If you no longer have access to your mySLU portal, please reach out to Student Financial Services at stdaccts@slu.edu to request access.

The best and most accurate source of information about the amounts that you paid for qualified tuition and related expenses will be your statements and account activity located in the Payment Suite application in your mySLU portal. If you no longer have access to your mySLU portal, please reach out to Student Financial Services at stdaccts@slu.edu to request access.