Form 1098-T
The Tax Payer Relief Act of 1997 includes provisions for the American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit. Both credits allow certain taxpayers who have incurred qualified expenses for higher education to take a credit against their federal income tax liability.
Educational institutions are required by law to provide information to students who may qualify for the education credits. Schools, colleges, and universities report this information to the IRS and to students on Form 1098-T.
As each student’s tax liability is subject to various personal factors, students and parents are encouraged to seek additional information directly from the IRS or a tax adviser. Southern Utah University cannot provide tax related advice or recommendations.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have opted in for electronic notification, you can access your form 1098-T through your mySUU portal.
The 1098-T is a tax form the University issues to report education-related expenses that could be claimed as part of the Hope Scholarship or Lifetime learning Tax Credit. The form is informational only. You are encouraged to seek additional information directly from the IRS or your tax adviser to find out if you are eligible for these credits.
Students who don't receive a 1098-T usually fall into one of the following categories:
- The address on file is not current/valid. You can see what address we have on file through your mySUU portal.
- Your tuition and fees were fully funded by Grants and/or Scholarships.
- You may have attended only Spring semester during the calendar year and registered for those classes during Fall of the previous calendar year.
No, you need to attach IRS form 8863. IRS publication 970 will provide you with more information, or contact your tax adviser.
Before you assume the information reported on your form is incorrect, it will help to understand how the amounts are calculated. The 1098-T reflects charges, scholarships and/or grants that applied during the tax/calendar year, not the academic year. For example, registration for Spring 2019 classes opened in Fall 2018; if you registered for Spring classes in October-December, the charges for Spring 2019 would be reported on your 2018 1098-T. The same rule applies to scholarships and grants: Financial Aid for Spring semester is often disbursed at the very end of the previous December; therefore, those funds are reported on the previous year’s 1098-T, not the 1098-T for the year in which the classes were actually attended and completed.
- Box 1: Reports payments received from the student. SUU does not populate this box. Just because this box is blank does not mean that we did not receive payments from you.
- Box 2: Reports eligible tuition and fees that were posted to your account during the tax/calendar year.
- Box 4: If there is an amount in this box, it means that you dropped or added Spring classes in the current tax year that were registered for and reported in the previous tax year.
- Box 5: Shows scholarships and grants received or funded during the tax/calendar year, regardless of what semester it applies to. This box also includes VA payments and third party scholarships that are applied through Financial Aid.
- Box 6: If there is an amount in this box, it means that scholarships and/or grants that funded during the previous tax year were pulled back during the current tax year.
- Box 8: Half-time enrollment refers to semesters attended during the tax year. Students who register for Spring 2018 classes prior to year end will have the charges for those classes reported on their 2017 1098-T. However, because they won't actually attend those classes until 2018, the Half-time enrollment box may not be marked.
Accessing Form 1098-T
As part of our ongoing sustainability and cost reduction measures, SUU provides electronic access to Form 1098-T to eligible students. The option to grant or deny consent for electronic delivery is found in your mySUU portal.
Opt-In
Students who did not grant consent previously may do so in the mySUU portal. IRS regulations state that each student who files a request to receive a 1098-T electronically must also provide his/her consent electronically. To grant your consent, visit the portal and follow the directions.
Scope of Duration: Once granted, electronic consent will remain in effect until the student chooses to opt-out or withdraw consent. Electronic copies of the 1098-T will be accessible through mySUU portal for no less than 3 years.
Electronic delivery: Students who grant consent for electronic delivery will log into their mySUU portal to view and print their form. Students will receive a notification via email in January, when the form becomes available.
Paper forms: For students who did not grant electronic consent, a paper copy of the 1098-T will be mailed to the student's permanent home address by the end of January.
Contact Information
It is the student’s responsibility to keep his or her contact information current with SUU, even after graduation, to ensure delivery of their tax form and other important communications. Students can visit their mySUU profile to update an address.
Authorized User Access
Students may grant others the ability to access their account information, make payments on their behalf, and access their 1098-T tax document. This choice is optional but may be particularly helpful for students who plan to be away for a humanitarian or religious mission, military service, or any event where they may be absent during tax season.
To grant access to a parent or guardian, log into your mySUU portal and click Student Billing System, then click My Profile. Authorized users with will receive an email with their own login credentials. The student can rescind this access at any time.
Helpful Links
Withdrawing Consent
Consent is valid until withdrawn by the student. Requests to withdraw consent must be submitted in writing via email to Controller@suu.edu or via paper letter to:
Southern Utah University Accounting Services
351 W. University Blvd.
Cedar City, UT 84720
Confirmation of your request to withdraw your consent to do business electronically will be sent to the preferred email account indicated in the mySUU portal.
We encourage all students to grant electronic consent. The benefits of electronic delivery include:
- Earlier availability than the paper document
- The elimination of lost, delayed, or misdirected forms
- The ability to view and print tax forms (by students or authorized users) from any computer at any time of day
Social Security Numbers
The IRS requires Southern Utah University to include the student's Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) when reporting Form 1098-T data. If a student's SSN is missing or is incorrect in SUU records, the Admissions office will send a request to update his/her information. Students may also submit form W-9S to the SUU Cashier’s Office.