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Colleges and universities are required under Internal Revenue Code Section 6050S to issue Form 1098-T for the purpose of determining a taxpayer’s eligibility for various tax credits and/or deductions including the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning education tax credits. This form is informational only. Your statements of account and other personal receipts may also be used when calculating your eligibility for tax credits and deductions.
The annual deadline for MSU to provide students with Form 1098-T is January 31st.
The annual deadline for MSU to file the required tax information electronically to the IRS is March 31st, although data may be transmitted earlier. Please consult the IRS website for taxpayer deadlines.
Michigan State University cannot provide tax advice. Please consult with a qualified tax preparer or the IRS if you have questions concerning how to use this form on your taxes. The information below is intended as guidance only. For additional support, please see the Additional Resources link below.
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:
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
For purposes of the tuition and fees deduction, qualified education expenses are tuition and certain related expenses required for enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution. Housing, meal plan, payment plan fee, late fees, and other miscellaneous fees are generally not qualifying expenses for tax purposes. Please reference IRS Publication 970 Tax Benefits for Education for additional guidance (see Additional Resources below).
Michigan State University cannot provide tax advice. Please consult with a qualified tax preparer or the IRS if you have any tax-related questions.
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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:
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:
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.
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.
Information on the 1098‑T and 1099‑Q may differ because education savings plans and IRS reporting rules don’t always align. While 529 plans can generally cover a wide range of qualified education expenses -such as tuition, fees, and room and board - the Michigan Education Trust (MET) is a prepaid tuition 529 plan and can only pay tuition and the Recreation & Wellness Center Fee.
This means your 1099‑Q from a 529 plan may include amounts distributed for all qualified education expenses as defined by the 529 plan (including room and board), but the 1098‑T reports only payments made toward qualified tuition and related expenses as defined by the IRS. Your 1099-Q from MET is limited to withdrawals for tuition and the Recreation & Wellness Center Fee.
Timing differences can also cause mismatches. For example, if a 529 withdrawal is made in December, it will appear on that year’s 1099‑Q. However, if Michigan State University does not process the payment until January, it will appear on the next calendar year’s 1098‑T.