Tax Information
1098-T Tax Form
Important Changes to IRS Regulatory Reporting for the 2018 1098-T
Per Federal regulations, Roger Williams University School of Law is annually obligated to provide all students enrolled in a credit bearing program with an IRS Form 1098-T. In previous years, your 1098-T included a figure in Box 2 that represented the qualified tuition related expenses (QTRE) we billed to our student account for the calendar (tax) year. Due to a change to institutional reporting requirements under federal law, beginning with tax year 2018, we will report in Box 1 the amount of QTRE you paid during the year. Box 2 will no longer be populated.
- QTRE includes tuition and certain related expenses required for enrollment.
- The amount paid is capped by QTRE in the same calendar year
Depending on your income (or your family's income, if you are a dependent), whether you were considered full or half-time enrolled, and the amount of your qualified educational expenses for the year, you may be eligible for a federal education tax credit. (You can find detailed information about claiming education tax credits in IRS Publication 970, page 9)
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 that a taxpayer may claim as part of your tax return.
Resources
Students should refer all tax-related questions to their own tax counsel. Students may find additional information from IRS Publication 970, Tax benefits for Higher Education or visit the Internal Revenue Service website. Additional information can also be found at the IRS's Tax Benefits for Education Information Center.
The 1098-T for calendar year 2023 will be mailed to the student's address on record no later than January 31,2024. If you do not receive your 2023 1098-T, please email the Office of Student Finance and Records. Please include the student's name and ID#. The 1098T can only be mailed to the student’s home address currently on record in the Office of Student Finance and Records. We are not allowed to FAX a 1098T. Students may pick up copies of the 1098T in the Office of Student Finance and Records.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click to OpenQ: What is the IRS Form 1098-T?
A: The Form 1098-T is a statement that colleges and universities are required to issue to certain students. It provides the total dollar amount paid by the student for what is referred to as qualified tuition and related expenses (or "QTRE") in a single tax year.
Q: Why don't the numbers on Form 1098-T equal the amounts I paid during the year?
A: There are potentially many reasons for this discrepancy. First, the amount in Box 1 only represents amounts paid for qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) and does not include payments made for room and board, insurance, health service fees, or parking which, though important, are not considered mandatory education expenses for tax purposes. Secondly, Form 1098-T reports amounts that the student paid in a certain year, and pay date does not necessarily correspond to the dates that the classes were attended. For example, tuition for the Spring semester is typically billed in December so a student may have paid tuition for the Spring semester in 2018 despite the fact that classes didn't start until 2019.
Q: What semesters are included in my Form 1098-T?
A: Typically, charges are posted to your student account in December for the Spring semester and in July for the Fall semester. Box 1 of Form 1098-T reflects payments made during the calendar year for qualified tuition and related expenses and it is not based on when the classes were attended or billed to the student account.