In 1997, the Taxpayer Relief Act established two education tax credits and a deduction for student loan interest. These credits are explained in detail in Publication 970 from the IRS. Eligible educational institutions are subject to IRS reporting requirements and must report each student enrolled for whom a reportable transaction was made during the 2023 calendar year. North Shore Community College (NSCC) reports payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses (Box 1).
When filing a federal tax return, you (the student), or a person who can claim you
as a dependent, may be eligible for an education tax credit for qualified tuition,
fees, and related expenses that were paid for out of pocket during the 2023 calendar
year. The 1098-T form provides information that will assist in determining eligibility
for a tax credit when preparing a federal tax return.
Receiving the 1098-T form does not mean you necessarily qualify for a tax credit.
If you have questions about how to calculate your education tax credit, you should
consult your tax professional or refer to the IRS website. NSCC cannot offer advice on tax matters.
1. When can I expect to receive my 1098-T form?
NSCC contracted Maximus, Inc. to produce the 1098-T form electronically and by mail. If you can provide consent to receive your 1098-T electronically, you will be able to access the form on-line. Maximus will email the students as soon as their 1098-T form is available. Students who do not provide the electronic consent will receive the 1098-T form in the mail. The form will be mailed by January 31, 2024. You may also access the information in myNorthshore. NSCC will post a myNorthshore announcement when the 1098-T information is available.
2. How can I determine whether I will receive a 1098-T form in the mail?
Log into your NSCC myNorthshore account to access the "Tax Notification" page. See question 10 below for instructions. The first sentence located in the paragraph just above your 1098-T representation will indicate whether the form was sent to you.
3. For tax year 2023, do higher education institutions have any requirements under Internal Revenue Code section 6050S to report information on Form 1098-T for emergency financial aid grants awarded to students under section 3504, 18004, or 18008 of the CARES Act, or under section 277 of the COVID Relief Act? (added May 18, 2021)
As of 11/22/2023, the IRS has not yet released guidance for tax year 2023. Please see the guidance that was released for 2021 below.
Yes, for tax year 2021, in certain cases, higher education institutions have information reporting requirements under section 6050S for payments made with emergency financial aid grants. As described in A3 and A4 above, a student may claim a deduction or one of the education credits if the student and the expenses otherwise qualify for the deduction or credit. Any amounts that qualify for the deduction or credit are known as “qualified tuition and related expenses” (QTRE) and trigger the reporting requirements of section 6050S. Accordingly, higher education institutions must report total QTRE, including QTRE paid with emergency financial aid grant funds, in Box 1 of Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement. Higher education institutions do not need to separately identify the portion of QTRE paid with the emergency financial aid grants anywhere on Form 1098-T and they do not need to report the grants themselves in Box 5 of Form 1098-T. This is the case regardless of whether the higher education institution:
- paid the emergency financial aid grants to the students, who then used grant money to pay for QTRE or
- applied grant money directly to a QTRE on a student’s account."
Note: Section 3504 funds are Emergency FSEOG funds. Section 18004 funds are HEERF I funds under the CARES Act. Section 18008 funds are Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund funds under the CARES Act. Section 277 funds are any emergency financial aid grants made by a federal agency, state, Indian tribe, institution of higher education, or scholarship-granting organization (including a tribal organization) because of an event related to the COVID-19 pandemic; these include HEERF II funds under the CRRSAA. It is NASFAA's understanding Section 277 also covers HEERF III funds under the ARP.
4. Where was my 1098-T tax form mailed?
The IRS mandates that 1098-T tax forms be mailed to your address that we have on file. If you have not previously provided your address or if it is no longer valid, you must update your address via your myNorthshore account. Please note that invalid addresses will cause delay in delivering the information to you. A representation of your 1098-T form is also available on your NSCC myNorthshore account (see question 10 for instructions). The address where your 1098-T form was sent is included on the form.
5. Can I request a copy of my 1098-T be sent to me or my Tax Preparer by email or fax?
The quickest way to obtain your 1098-T information is via the Maximus website. Visit https://tra.maximus.com/ and either login to your account using your previous login from prior years, or select 'First Time Students' to create an account.
6. Why is my social security number missing from my 1098-T?
If we do not have your social security number on file, it will not be included on
your 1098-T tax form. When we do not have your social security number on file, we
are required by the IRS to attempt to obtain it from you. A W-9S form, the official IRS form used for requesting your social security number,
was sent to your NSCC email account beginning in December 2023. If you did not respond
by January 15, 2024, your 1098-T form will not contain a social security number.
Failure to furnish correct SSN or ITIN
Per IRS instruction on page two of the W-9S form located under the heading "Penalties",
if you fail to furnish your correct SSN or ITIN to the requester you are subject to
a penalty of $50.00 unless your failure is due to reasonable cause and not to willful
neglect.
7. Who is excluded from receiving a 1098-T form?
We are not required to report to the IRS or to furnish a 1098-T form to you, if:
- You were enrolled in courses for which no academic credit was offered, even if you were otherwise enrolled in a degree program.
- You were a nonresident alien (unless you specifically requested a 1098-T).
- Your qualified tuition and related expenses were entirely waived or paid by scholarships or third parties such as employer or federal/state government agency.
8. What information is provided on my 1098-T tax form?
Below is a brief explanation of the form contents:
Box 1: Due to a change to institutional reporting requirements under federal law, beginning
with tax year 2018, the college will report in box 1 the amount of qualified tuition
and related expenses paid during the 2023 calendar year.
Box 2: This box is blank.
Box 3: This box is blank.
Box 4: This box will show an adjusted amount if you dropped classes or your schedule was
adjusted in 2023 resulting in a reduction in qualified tuition and related expenses
affecting amounts reported in a previous reporting year after 2002. This amount is
reported as a positive number per IRS requirements. However, it is actually a decrease
to the amount that was reported on a prior year 1098-T.
Box 5: This box contains the total amount of any scholarships, grants, third party payments,
or tuition and/or fee waivers you were eligible for that were paid toward your costs
of attendance. If you received additional awards in 2023 for previous reporting periods,
those amounts will be included in this box.
Box 6: If there were any grant and/or scholarship reductions on your account in 2023 affecting
amounts reported in a prior reporting year after 2002, those adjustments will show
in this box. This amount is reported as a positive number per IRS requirements. However,
it is actually a decrease to the amount that was reported on a prior year 1098-T.
Box 7: If any amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses reported in box 2
relate to the academic period that begins in January 2024 through March of 2024, this
box will be checked.
Box 8: If you were at least a half-time student (6 credits) during any academic period that
began in 2023, this box will be checked.
Box 9 and 10: These boxes do not apply to NSCC or NSCC current/former students.
9. Where can I obtain detail of the amounts entered in the boxes of my 1098-T?
The detailed breakdown is available online via the Maximus website or the myNorthshore portal, see FAQ 11 for details. Visit https://tra.maximus.com/ to view the information.
10. In addition to my 1098-T information, is additional information regarding my 2023 tuition and fee account activity available to assist in the preparation of my tax return?
It is the responsibility of the student or the person claiming a tax credit to retain financial records needed for tax preparation. It is not up to the school to provide payment records. You may also follow the steps below to access your Account Detail by Term.
- Log into myNorthshore
- Select the Web Payment/ eBill icon
- Select the View Activity for a breakdown of each term
*Remember - the college bills by term, but 1098-Ts capture amounts billed/paid during a specific calendar year.
11. If I have additional questions about my 1098-T tax form, who do I contact?
If you have additional questions about your 1098-T tax form, call Student Financial Services Office at: 978-762-4189. You can also contact us by email at: sfs@northshore.edu or by joining us via Zoom on Centro Hub.
12. Will my 1098-T Tuition Statement information be provided to the IRS?
Yes. We are required to submit an electronic version of your 1098-T information to the IRS by March 31, 2024.
13. Where can I get assistance on how to report information on my 1098-T tax form?
You should consult your tax professional for assistance with tax return preparation
and claiming an educational tax credit/benefit.
IRS Tax preparation information resources and assistance:
- IRS website
- IRS Telephone Assistance Hotline: 1-800-829-1040