Form 1098-T: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• What is Form 1098-T (Tuition Statement)?
  • Each year, The University of Texas and Texas Southmost College provides an IRS Form 1098-T to all students who had qualified tuition and related expenses billed to them during the previous calendar year. The 1098-T form serves to alert students that they may be eligible for federal income tax education credits. This form is informational only and should not be considered as tax opinion or advice. Receipt of Form 1098-T does not indicate eligibility for the tax credit.
• What is considered qualified tuition and related expenses?
  • Regulations define qualified tuition and related expenses as: fees required to be paid to the institution as a condition of the students’ enrollment or attendance. Specifically excluded are the cost of room and board, insurance, transportation/parking, and similar personal, living, or family expenses.
• If I receive Form 1098-T, does it mean I qualify for a tax credit?
  • Not necessarily. Determination of eligibility is the responsibility of the taxpayer. Please consult with a qualified tax preparer or review IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Higher Education to make an individual determination.
• Where do I find information about what I paid to the University in 2012?
  • Please refer to your cancelled checks, prior Statement(s) of Charges, credit card statements, and Loan disbursement notifications for details regarding payment amounts and dates. Tax credit is available for payments made between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. Previous Statement(s) of Charges are available on UTB Online.
• I paid my qualified tuition and related expenses with student loans. Can I still claim the American Opportunity Credit?
  • Yes. Loan funds should be considered in the same manner as cash payments. The credit is claimed in the year in which the loan is disbursed, not in the year in which the loan is repaid. Please review the loan disbursement notification you received for disbursement dates.
• What do the amounts on the form represent?

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    Box 1: Payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses: This box will be left blank. Universities may choose whether to report payments received or amounts billed on student accounts; they need not report both amounts. The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College has chosen to report qualified tuition and related expense amounts billed (see Box 2).

    Box 2: Shows the total amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses less any related reductions in charges.

    Box 3: This will be left blank.

    Box 4: Shows any adjustment made for a prior year for qualified tuition and related expenses 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. See "recapture" in the index of IRS Pub. 970 to report a reduction in your credit or deduction.

    Box 5: Shows the total of all scholarships 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: 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. Please consult with a qualified tax preparer or review IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Higher Education to make an individual determination.

    Box 7: Shows whether the amount in box 1 or 2 includes amounts for an academic period beginning January-March 2012. See IRS Pub. 970 for how to report these amounts.

    Box 8: 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. If you are at least a half-time student for at least one academic period that begins during the year, you meet one of the requirements for the Hope credit. You do not have to meet the workload requirement to qualify for 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 Hope credit, but you may qualify for the lifetime learning credit.

    Box 10: This will be left blank.