1098-T FAQ

A student who is eligible to receive a 1098-T can access it online through the Student Information System as soon as it is available each year. 1098-T forms are required to be available by January 31. To find your 1098-T in the Student Information System:

1. Select the Student Accounts Tile
2. In the left hand side menu, select "View Tax Forms"
3. Select "View 1098-T"
4. Select the 1098-T for the relevant tax year

If you no longer have access to the Student Information System, please contact the Spartan One-Stop at 517-432-8000 or onestop@msu.edu

Michigan State University must file a Form 1098-T for each student enrolled for the given calendar year and for whom a reportable transaction is made. MSU Student Accounts will only create a 1098-T for students whose reportable transactions occurred on the student account. Additionally, the IRS does not require Michigan State University to provide a Form 1098-T for: 

• Courses for which no academic credit is offered, even if the student is otherwise enrolled in a degree program
• Nonresident alien students
• Students whose expenses are covered by a formal 3rd party billing arrangement such as dual enrolled high school students

Depending on your particular situation, Michigan State University may not be required to produce a Form 1098-T for you. See exceptions above. Additionally, a 1098-T will not be created in these situations: 

• No qualified educational expenses were paid in the tax year
• No payments were made in the tax year
• Payments made in the tax year were applied to non-qualified education expenses
• Payment is made on a delinquent account for a student who was not enrolled during the reporting year or for the following spring semester

You may be able to claim an education credit if you, your spouse, or a dependent you claim on your tax return was a student enrolled at or attending an eligible educational institution. If a student is claimed as a dependent on another’s tax return, only the person who claims the student as a dependent can claim a credit for the student’s qualified education expenses. If a student is not claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return, only the student can claim the credit. If you claim an exemption on your tax return for an eligible student who is your dependent, treat any expenses paid (or deemed paid) by your dependent as if you had paid them. See additional restrictions for claiming the credit in the instructions to Form 8863 at irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8863.pdf.

• Box 1 represents amounts paid for qualifying tuition and related expenses.
• Box 2 is not reported by Michigan State University beginning 2018.
• Box 4 represents reductions made to amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses that were reported for a prior calendar year. Common reasons you may have activity in box 4:
  • Enrollment changes resulting in a refund of payments applied to qualified expenses reported in a prior year
  • Financial aid was applied to qualified expenses that had previously been paid by payments from other sources in a prior year
• Box 5 represents the total amount of scholarships, grants or 3rd Party Sponsor Credits that were processed for the payment of qualified tuition and college related expenses. Payments that are required to be paid back to the awarding party are excluded.
• Box 6 represents the amount of reductions or refunds made for for scholarships, grants, or a 3rd Party Sponsor that were reported for a prior year.
• Box 7 is checked if any payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses reported in the calendar year that relate to an academic period that begins in January through March of the next calendar year.
• Box 8 is only checked if you have been at least a half-time student (6 credit hours) for at least one academic period that began during the calendar year.
• Box 9 is checked if you were enrolled as a graduate student for at least one academic period during the calendar year for which reporting is required. Note: if a student was enrolled as an undergraduate in spring and a graduate in fall, this box will be checked.

• Address
• Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) or Social Security Number (SSN)
• Name

Michigan State University reports payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses on Form 1098-T during the reported calendar year. The amount listed in box 1 on the form is a snapshot as of December 31st.

Only payments applied to qualified tuition and related expenses are reflected in Box 1. Note, tuition waivers are not payments; they are charge reductions. Payments may have been received within the reported calendar year but were applied to non-qualified expenses. See IRS Publication 970 in the Additional Resources section for information on qualified and non-qualified expenses.

Please contact the Spartan One-Stop at 517-432-8000 or onestop@msu.edu if you have any questions about the amount listed in box 1.

Payments processed or scholarships disbursed between January 1st and December 31st are listed on that calendar year’s 1098-T. Spring charges are assessed mid-December. Spring payments and scholarships will be reported during the calendar year in which they were processed or disbursed.

Box 7 will be checked if any payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses reported in the calendar year relate to an academic period that begins in January through March of the next calendar year.

Please contact the Spartan One-Stop at 517-432-8000 or onestop@msu.edu if you have any questions about the amounts listed on your 1098-T.

Education savings programs allow for additional qualified education expenses than the IRS. The most common difference is room and board. A tax-free withdrawal from your education savings program may cover room and board and be listed as a gross distribution on your 1099-Q; however, it would not be reported as qualified tuition or related expense on the 1098-T.

Additionally, timing can be a factor in differences. A withdrawal from a 529 in December will be reported on that year’s 1099-Q. If that payment is not processed by Michigan State University until January, it will be reported on the calendar year 1098-T.