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Frequently Asked Questions for: Cashiers Office - 1098T- What is a 1098-T form?
- What information is on the 1098-T?
- Amounts included in Box 2, "Amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expense"
- Amounts included in Box 4, "Adjustments made for a prior year"
- Amounts included in Box 6, "Scholarship and grants for a prior year"
- Determining the eligibility for the educational tax credits
- What is the Hope Credit? (Not available for 2010 tax year)
- What is the Lifetime Learning Credit?
- When is the 1098-T mailed to students?
- What address is used to mail the 1098-T?
- Can the 1098-T be mailed to the parent instead of the student?
- The 1098-T went to the wrong address, what can I do?
- My 1098-T was returned to Aims for incorrect address, can my parents pick it up?
- Is the 1098-T available online thru student services?
- Can the information be faxed to the student or a tax preparer?
- If my parent calls and requests the 1098-T information, will it be released to the parent over the phone?
- My tuition was paid by a 3rd party, why am I getting a 1098-T?
- My tuition was paid by the VA or VA Post 9/11 benefit, why am I getting a 1098-T?:
- I am attending Spring semester, why am I getting a 1098-T for the year I didn't attend Aims?
- Why isn't box 1 have what I paid to the college for school?
- What is the American Opportunity Credit?
What is a 1098-T form?The 1098-T is an IRS form entitled “Tuition Statement” that assists the student in determining if he/she qualifies for certain education related tax credits under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997(TRA97). The IRS requires eligible educational institutions such as Aims Community college who charge for qualified tuition and related expenses during the calendar year to provide this statement to the students and to the IRS.
Information about Form 1098-T is needed to determine eligibility for the Hope Scholarship Credit, Lifetime Learning Credit or the American Opportunity Credit provided in Internal Revenue Code Section 25A Students may obtain information about all Educational credits by visiting the UC Education Tax Credit Reporting Service web site at www.tcrs.com or call 1-877-467-3811 (toll-free).
For more information, visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov and type in the word Hope Scholarship Credit,Lifetime Learning Credit or American Opportunity Credit in the search engine.
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What information is on the 1098-T?On the 1098-T form, Aims Community College reports student’s name, SSN, address and indicates if the student was a graduate student or at least half-time during the calendar year. The college reports the amount billed for qualified tuition and related expenses and not the actual amount that the student paid to the college during the calendar year. Since Aims Community college does not identify payments on student account with specific charges, it is impossible to determine which payment is made towards the qualified expenses and which is made towards the unqualified expenses. Therefore, the college has elected to report amounts billed in Box 2 instead of payment received in Box 1. Students should use their personal records and college fee receipts to determine the actual amount paid towards the charges reported on the 1098-T statement.
Box 5 is used to report total amount of scholarships and/or grants that the student received during the tax year. Loans are not reported on the 1098-T due to federal regulations. The Loan company or entity will send the student a separate tax reporting form for those loans the student had during the tax year.
Box 4 and Box 6 will have an amount indicated if adjustments were made to prior year amounts that were reported on the previous year 1098-T.
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Amounts included in Box 2, "Amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expense"This represents the amounts billed during the calendar year for qualified tuition and related expenses. The amount reported is the total amount billed less any reductions in charges made during the calendar year that relate to the amounts billed.
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Amounts included in Box 4, "Adjustments made for a prior year"This represents any reduction in charges made for qualified tuition and related expenses processed during the calendar year that relate to amounts billed that were reported for a prior year.
Example: You registered for Spring semester in 2010 but dropped classes in January 2011. You will receive a 1098-T for 2010 for all the charges but in January 2012 you will receive your 2011 1098-T with the adjustment amount to be applied toward the 2010 1098-T.
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Amounts included in Box 6, "Scholarship and grants for a prior year"This represents any reduction to the amount of scholarship or grants that were reported for prior year.
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Determining the eligibility for the educational tax creditsAims Community College cannot determine if you qualify for a tax credit and is not allowed to give you tax advice. Please read the instructions on the 1098-T statement and obtain IRS publication 970 and Form 8863 or contact a tax professional about your personal income tax situation. The IRS website for the above form and publication is www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html, and the IRS can be reached at 1-800-829-1040.
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What is the Hope Credit? (Not available for 2010 tax year)The Hope Credit was created by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and allows certain taxpayers who pay qualified tuition and related expenses to an eligible education institution to claim a credit against their federal income tax liability.
The credit may be claimed for qualified tuition and related expenses (room and board are not eligible) paid on behalf of each student in the taxpayer’s family who was enrolled at least half-time in an eligible institution; enrolled in the first two years of post-secondary education; enrolled in a program leading to an undergraduate degree or other recognized educational credential; and who has no felony drug conviction on their record. The credit may be reduced based on the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income.
This credit is not available in 2010 per IRS publication 970.
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What is the Lifetime Learning Credit?The Lifetime Learning Credit was created by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and allows certain taxpayers who pay qualified tuition and related expenses to an eligible education institution to claim a credit against their federal income tax liability.
The credit may be claimed for the qualified tuition and related expenses (room and board are not eligible) paid by a taxpayer’s family for students who were enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, or professional degree courses, or enrolled in any course of instruction to acquire or improve job skills, and receiving instruction from an eligible institution. The credit may be reduced based on the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income.
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When is the 1098-T mailed to students?Per IRS federal regulations, the 1098-T tax form is to be postmarked by January 31st each year. The 1098-T is mailed to each student who has qualified charges and scholarships and grant activity for the tax year. The form is mailed to the students mailing address, not necessarily the parents address. Students can view and print their 1098-T form online by logging into myAims and click on the 'My Financials' tab then click on the blue link called “View My 1098-T”
Starting for tax year 2011, tax forms will only be available on the website. Students will not be mailed a 1098-T form unless they have completed a 1098-T Opt out form and submitted it to the Cashier office.
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What address is used to mail the 1098-T?The students’ address that they indicated at time of registration or currently on file with the Admissions and Records office is used. This is the same address the student indicated to be used for all school correspondence, billing statements and used to determine residency.
Starting for tax year 2011, tax forms will only be available on the website. Students will not be mailed a 1098-T form unless they have completed a 1098-T Opt out form and submitted it to the Cashier office.
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Can the 1098-T be mailed to the parent instead of the student?No, the 1098-T is mailed to the students’ address they have on file with Aims Community College. It is then the students’ responsibility to transfer the form to a 3rd party if necessary.
The 1098-T is only mailed to the parents address if the student used that address for their primary mailing address and used for determining residency purposes.
Starting for tax year 2011, tax forms will only be available on the website. Students will not be mailed a 1098-T form unless they have completed a 1098-T Opt out form and submitted it to the Cashier office.
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The 1098-T went to the wrong address, what can I do?First, visit any Aims campus or go online to change your address.
Second, hopefully the 1098-T will be returned to the Greeley Cashiers Office due to incorrect address. Once the form is returned due to incorrect address to our office, you will be able to pick it up at that time. Please be patient while waiting for the form to be returned to us by the Post Office.
Starting for tax year 2011, tax forms will only be available on the website. Students will not be mailed a 1098-T form unless they have completed a 1098-T Opt out form and submitted it to the Cashier office.
Third, the student may log into myAims and print a copy of the 1098-T.
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My 1098-T was returned to Aims for incorrect address, can my parents pick it up?No, according to FERPA laws, only the student can pick up official documents or school records. Students will also need to show a picture id at the time the document is picked up.
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Is the 1098-T available online thru student services?Yes, the 1098-T is available online. The student needs to log into myAims at www.aims.edu. The clicks on the 'My Financials' tab and locate the link called “View my 1098-T”.
Starting for tax year 2011, tax forms will only be available on the website. Students will not be mailed a 1098-T form unless they have completed a 1098-T Opt out form and submitted it to the Cashier office.
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Can the information be faxed to the student or a tax preparer?No, per FERPA laws and the form contains confidential information, we are unable to fax the 1098-T information to the student or an alternate party.
The information can be retrieved from our website 24/7 by the student or be requested if the student calls the Greeley Cashier’s Office and requests it to be mailed to the student. The student then can transfer the information to the alternate party requesting the information.
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If my parent calls and requests the 1098-T information, will it be released to the parent over the phone?No, unless the student has completed and submitted the “Release of Confidential Information” form to the Admissions and Records office and indicated the parent(s) names on the form. The student also needs to indicate on the form that Aims can release Financial/Tuition account information to the party indicated on the form.
If the “Release of Confidential Information” form is not on file, then the parent or alternate party will be asked to contact the student to receive the requested information.
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My tuition was paid by a 3rd party, why am I getting a 1098-T?All students who receive funding thru a 3rd party will receive a 1098-T. This is due to the fact that the college cannot determine the source of the funds coming from the 3rd party. This is an informational form only. If your entire tuition/fee charges for the year were completely covered by the 3rd party, then you will not need to use the form for tax purposes since you did not have any out of pocket expenses. You will want to keep the document with your tax papers. You may also print out your bills from our website to show that 3rd party paid for everything.
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My tuition was paid by the VA or VA Post 9/11 benefit, why am I getting a 1098-T?:VA or VA Post 9/11 payments are considered 3rd party billing. All students who receive funding thru a 3rd party will receive a 1098-T. This is due to the fact that the college cannot determine the source of the funds coming from the 3rd party. This is an informational form only. If your entire tuition/fee charges for the year were completely covered by the 3rd party, then you will not need to use the form for tax purposes since you did not have any out of pocket expenses. You will want to keep the document with your tax papers. You may also print out your bills from our website to show that 3rd party paid for everything.
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I am attending Spring semester, why am I getting a 1098-T for the year I didn't attend Aims?1098-T’s are using the date you REGISTERED for courses, not the actual dates the classes take place. So if you registered in November or December for Spring, then the charges will appear on the 1098-T for that year you created the charges. If you received Financial Aid for Spring, those will appear on that years 1098-T according to the date it was applied. The form is for informational only; you may discuss the matter with the IRS or a tax preparer to figure out the best way to use the information for your taxes. Publication 970 is available online at www.irs.gov.
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Why isn't box 1 have what I paid to the college for school?The school does not report what you paid to the college. Aims only reports what eligible charges you incurred for the tax year. Your actual payment receipts, bank and/or credit card statements or copies of your paid bills can be used to show what you paid. Please refer to Publication 970 for what type of charges are eligible for the specific tax credits.
Remember to keep all your receipts for tuition/fee and books due to the college may not be able to get you a duplicate copy. It is the student’s responsibility to keep all records in a safe place for tax purposes. If you had e-Cashier payments made to the college, your only bank and/or credit card statements are the only receipt you have. The college cannot create an actually receipt for the e-cashier. All e-Cashier payments are reflected on your bills.
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What is the American Opportunity Credit?The American Opportunity Credit allows certain taxpayers who pay qualified tuition and related expenses to an eligible education institution to claim a credit against their federal income tax liability up to $2,500 per eligible student. The credit may be claimed for the qualified tuition and related expenses (room and board are not eligible) paid by a taxpayer’s family for students who were enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, or professional degree courses, or enrolled in any course of instruction to acquire or improve job skills, and receiving instruction from an eligible institution. The credit may be reduced based on the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income.
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