Who Gets a 1098-T? A Guide for Educational Institutions

reading time: 20 minute(s)

It’s late January, and the bursar’s inbox is filling up. One student wants to know why her 1098-T hasn’t arrived. An international student on an F-1 visa asks why he didn’t get one at all. A parent is certain the form on screen is wrong.

Behind all three emails is the same question: who is actually supposed to get a 1098-T? Here is a clear walk-through for school business offices.

Who actually gets a 1098-T?

Eligible schools must issue Form 1098-T to each enrolled student who paid qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) during the year.  

Exceptions include:

• Most nonresident alien students
  
• Students whose expenses were fully covered by scholarships, and 
  
• Some noncredit courses

What Form 1098-T is for

Form 1098-T, the Tuition Statement, is the IRS form schools use to report the tuition and related expenses students paid, plus any scholarships or grants processed. 

Students use their copy to claim education credits such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit, and the IRS uses its copy to check those claims. The school, not the student, is responsible for filing the form and delivering the copy.

The form reports:

• Payments received for QTRE (Box 1)
  
• Scholarships and grants processed (Box 5)
  
• Adjustments to earlier years (Boxes 4 and 6)
  
• Whether the student was at least half-time (Box 8) or a graduate student (Box 9)

Who must issue one

The requirement applies to eligible educational institutions, meaning postsecondary schools that can participate in federal student aid programs. In general, the school must file a form for each enrolled student when it receives QTRE payments during the year.

What counts as QTRE matters, because it decides what goes in Box 1:

• Included: Tuition and fees a student must pay to enroll or attend, plus course-related books, supplies, and equipment only when they must be paid to the school as a condition of enrollment
  
• Not included: Room and board, insurance, medical costs, transportation, and other personal or living expenses

Here is how the common situations break down.

Student situation	Form required?	What to know
Enrolled and paid QTRE during the year	Yes	Box 1 reports payments received
Nonresident alien	Generally no, unless the student asks	Confirm tax status rather than assuming it
QTRE entirely waived or paid by scholarships	No	Partial coverage still requires a form
Expenses covered by a formal billing arrangement with an employer or a government agency, such as the VA or DoD	Generally no	The arrangement must be formal and documented
Course with no academic credit	Generally no	Some exceptions apply
No reportable payments during the year	No	Nothing to report

A partial scholarship does not remove the requirement. The exemption applies only when scholarships or waivers cover QTRE entirely.

The exception for nonresident aliens

Nonresident aliens cause the most confusion. Schools generally don’t file a 1098-T for a nonresident alien unless the student requests one. Many F-1 and J-1 students fall into this group, but status depends on the substantial presence test, so it’s worth confirming. 

The form also matters less for these students. Nonresident aliens are generally not eligible for education credits, and the 1042-S is usually the tax document they rely on. That form reports taxable scholarships and fellowships, which is why the bursar’s office and the international office need to work together. 

How to tell whether a student is a nonresident alien

Tax status is not the same as visa status. A student is generally a resident alien if they meet either of these tests:

• Green card test: the student is a lawful permanent resident
  
• Substantial presence test: the student has been in the U.S. long enough, using a weighted day count over three years

F-1 and J-1 students are generally exempt individuals and do not count their days for their first five calendar years in the U.S. That is why most international students are nonresident aliens early on, and why some later become residents for tax purposes.

What schools should do

• Record tax residency information in the student record, not just visa type
  
• Choose a policy: issue only on request, or issue to everyone for consistency
  
• Share status with the international office, which handles 1042-S reporting

Issuing a 1098-T to every student is a reasonable choice, but it isn’t an IRS requirement.

Where schools slip up

• Treating any scholarship as an exemption. A student whose scholarship covers half the bill still receives a form. Only full coverage removes the requirement.
  
• Skipping the TIN follow-up. Schools are expected to make reasonable efforts to collect each student’s taxpayer identification number. Document every request, because that record is your protection if a number is missing.
  
• Editing the wrong year. When a refund or adjustment affects an earlier year, it appears on the current form through Box 4 (payments) or Box 6 (scholarships). The earlier form is not changed.
  
• Reporting amounts billed. Box 1 reports payments received, not what a student was charged.
  
• Missing the year-end cutoff. Spring tuition paid in December belongs in the earlier year, and Box 7 should be checked.

A quick way to decide

For any student, ask four things. 

• Did the school receive payments for QTRE this year? 
  
• Is the student a nonresident alien who hasn’t asked for a form? 
  
• Were QTRE entirely covered by scholarships or a formal billing arrangement?
   
• Is the course a noncredit course that falls under an exception? 

A yes to the first and a no to the rest generally means a form is due.

1098-T filing and recordkeeping requirements

Filers who meet the 10-return aggregate threshold generally must e-file. Because schools issue 1098-Ts alongside W-2s and 1099s, most will qualify. 

Keep these on file for each student:

• The tax status determination and any request for a form
  
• Every TIN request and the response
  
• The ledger supporting Box 1
  
• Scholarship disbursement records supporting Box 5
  
• A history of corrections issued

Take the guesswork out of 1098-T filing

Knowing who gets a form is the first step. Accurate amounts, TIN checks, and on-time e-filing are the rest. TaxBandits helps educational institutions prepare, validate, and e-file their tax forms in one place. Explore the 1098-T instructions to get started.

Frequently asked questions

What should a student do if they expected a 1098-T and didn’t get one?
Start with the school’s student portal, then contact the bursar’s office. The most common reasons are an exemption, a missing address, or no consent for electronic delivery. The school can confirm which one applies.

Does receiving a 1098-T mean a student can claim an education credit?
No. The form is an information return. Credit eligibility depends on the taxpayer’s own situation, including enrollment, income, and expenses actually paid.

What happens if a school fails to issue a required form?
Schools can face per-form penalties that rise the later a correct form is filed or furnished, and intentional disregard carries higher penalties. Corrected filings are far cheaper than missed ones.

Can a student without a Social Security number receive a 1098-T?
Yes. A student may have an ITIN instead, and the school should collect whichever taxpayer identification number the student has.

Is Form 1098 the same as Form 1098-T?

No. Form 1098 reports mortgage interest paid to a lender. Form 1098-T reports qualified tuition and related expenses, and it is filed by colleges and other eligible educational institutions. Learn more about 1098-T reporting.