A 1098-T Tuition Statement reports qualified tuition payments and financial aid awarded to students enrolled in courses during the calendar year for which they receive academic credit.
The 2018 1098-T will look slightly different than it has in prior years. Congress and the IRS eliminated the option for colleges and universities to report the “amounts billed” Box 2 on form 1098-T. We must now report only the amounts paid for qualified tuition and expenses. This change went into effect for the 2018 tax year.
Based on a report compiled by the US Inspector General for Tax Administration, it was determined there were a large number of errors as it relates to educational tax credits. The majority of these errors were caused by confusion regarding Box 2 (amounts billed) reporting. This change eliminates this confusion and the potential for inaccuracies on 1098-T forms going forward.
This means that you will no longer see any amounts in Box 2 (Amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses) on your 1098-T form. You will, however, see an amount in Box 1 (Payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses). The dollar amounts reported on your form 1098-T may assist you in completing IRS Form 8863 – the form used for calculating the education tax credits.
The University at Buffalo is unable to provide you with tax advice, but should you have questions, you should seek the counsel of an informed tax preparer or adviser. You may also find information on the IRS website.
The University at Buffalo partners with Heartland ECSI to deliver the 1098-T statements. The Heartland 1098-T website is available 24/7 providing students access to their tax statements. It allows students to view and print their 1098-T tuition statement.
Go to heartland.ecsi.net, then:
Need help logging in to Heartland ECSI? Please call 866-428-1098, Monday – Friday, 7:30am – 8:00pm EST.
The university must file a 1098-T with the IRS for enrolled students with a reportable transaction.
For tax years 2017 and prior: the university does NOT report Box 1, student payments, but does report Box 2, the IRS qualified charges assessed during the tax year.
Beginning with the 2018 tax year, the university WILL report Box 1 Payments, and NOT Box 2. Please note, depending on when you enroll for spring classes, your Spring 2019 charges may post in December 2018 when the spring term is billed. If you make payment for your Spring 2019 charges by December 31, 2018, the payments will be reflected on the 2018 1098T statement in Box 1
A 1098-T form is automatically mailed to students with a U.S. citizenship status of native, naturalized, or permanent resident on university records. As required by law, your 1098-T statement will be mailed by January 31st of the following year. Students without one of these three US citizenship statuses, or students with a non-resident alien status will not have a 1098-T automatically generated.
To request a 1098-T be generated, please contact the Office of Student Accounts at 716-645-1800 or UBstudentaccounts@buffalo.edu for them. We will generate the current year’s 1098-T upon receipt of your request AND a completed modified W-9S form (PDF) (available from the Registrar's office). The deadline to request the current tax year’s 1098-T form is July 1.
We cannot provide tax advice or assistance related to the credit or how to claim the credit. The 1098-T, along with your copy of your UB billing statements, should be used by your tax preparer to determine your eligibility for a tax credit.
The university’s Federal Identification Number is 16-1514621. This number can also be found on your 1098-T statement. Individuals completing the New York State Tax Form IT-272 will use this number for the EIN of the university.
A 1098-T form is automatically mailed to only those students with one of the following U.S. citizenship status on university records: native, naturalized, or permanent resident. The statement will be mailed by January 31 of the following year to your permanent address on file. In addition, you may access and print your 1098-T online through Heartland ECSI, also available by January 31.
Students without one of these three U.S. citizenship statuses or students with a non-resident alien status will not have a 1098-T automatically generated but may request one. In order for you to receive a 1098-T, you must complete a modified W-9S form (PDF) and send it along with your request for a 1098-T to the Office of Student Accounts. The deadline to request the current tax year’s 1098-T form is July 1.
The University at Buffalo partners with Heartland ECSI to deliver the 1098-T statements. The Heartland 1098-T website is available 24/7 providing student information. It allows students to view and print their 1098-T tuition statement.
Need help logging in to Heartland ECSI? Please call 866-428-1098, Monday – Friday, 7:30am – 8:00pm EST.
There are several reasons why you may not automatically receive a 1098-T form. These reasons include the following:
In order for you to receive a 2018 1098-T, you must submit a new modified W-9S form (PDF) and send it along with your request for a 1098T to the Office of the Registrar.
For tax years 2017 and prior, the IRS gave schools the option of choosing to report either Box 1 or Box 2. For Tax year 2017 and prior, UB chose to report Box 2, the IRS qualified charges that were assessed during the tax year. Beginning in Tax Year 2018, we are required to report Box 1 only, and not report anything in Box 2. For billing statement information with your detailed charges and payments, log into MyUB, HUB Student Center, click on Billing / Payments and then click on Payment Options.
The IRS requires schools to report only payments of qualified tuition and related expenses for the calendar year (date the payment was posted on student account). The IRS does not consider the following items to be qualified expenses: courses involving sports, games, or hobbies (unless part of a degree program), dining/meal plan charges, health insurance, disability insurance fees (even if required; excluded by statute), housing charges, late payment fees, library fines, loan processing fees, orientation fees, parking permits, parking fines, student health fees, transportation fees (if providing individual benefit).
For more information on IRS qualified tuition and related expenses, please go to IRS.gov.
You did not have any Payments of IRS qualified charges (Box 1) and/or financial aid and scholarships (Box 5) that posted during the tax year to report.
Box 5 is a total of all financial aid, scholarships, grants and third party payments per IRS instructions (IRS does not include loans) that are posted to the student’s account during the tax year. A student’s financial aid is based on their total cost of attendance, which includes costs that may not be considered qualified by the IRS for the Payments reported in Box 1.
Please note: The university cannot provide you with tax advice or assistance related to the tax credits or how to claim the credit. For assistance, please contact a tax professional or refer to the IRS.gov website.
The IRS W-9S form is your certification that your tax ID number (SSN or ITIN) is correct. To comply with Section 6109 of the Internal Revenue Code, you are required to provide the information on the form to the university upon request.
If I don’t have a SSN or ITIN, can I still get at 1098-T form?
You cannot receive a 1098-T form if you do not have a SSN or ITIN.
The W-9S form is your certification that your Tax ID number is correct. The IRS can impose a penalty on the educational institution for reporting a 1098T with a missing or invalid tax ID number. The university may request that the student certify that their tax ID number is valid to prevent being penalized. You are required to provide this to the university upon request.
In order for you to receive a 1098-T, you must fill out a modified W-9S form (PDF) and send it to the Office of the Registrar.
