Tax Information

Student Financial Services wants to make you aware of a significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) mandated change to the 1098-T tax form for tax year 2018.

Depending on your income (or your family’s income, if you are a dependent), whether you were considered full or half-time enrolled, and the amount of your qualified educational expenses for the year, you may be eligible for a federal education tax credit. You can find detailed information about claiming education tax credits in IRS Publication 970 on page 9.

Beginning with tax year 2018, the IRS is requiring all schools to report amounts paid from January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018 for qualified tuition and related expenses in Box 1 (Payments Received) instead of reporting qualified charges billed in Box 2 (Charges Billed). When you receive your 2018 1098-T tax form, Box 1 will be populated and Box 2 will be blank. Box 5 (Grants and Scholarships), Box 6 (Adjustments to scholarships & grants) and prior year tax forms will not be impacted by the new rules.

Due to the change in reporting method, there will be no adjustments listed on the 2018 tax form in Box 4 (Adjustments made for a prior year). Beginning with the 2019 1098-T tax form, adjustments to payments received (Box 1) will be reflected in Box 4.

Students can grant consent to view their 1098-T online via WIN. Students can also authorize others to view their 1098-T. Information can be found at https://finance.wfu.edu/students-parents/sfs/tax-information/

Wake Forest University is unable to provide you with individual tax advice, but should you have questions, please seek the counsel of an informed tax preparer or adviser. Students & authorized payers can download student account statements via DEAC if needed for tax preparation. For more information about Form 1098-T, please visit www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1098-t

Supplemental Information:

Below are several scenarios for review followed by a comparison between the 2017 & 2018 1098-T tax forms:

Scenario 1: Spring 2018 tuition and fees were due on 12/1/17 and paid on 12/1/17 for term spring 2018

• 2018: 1098-T Box 1- The 12/1/17 payment would not be included on the 2018 1098-T form since the payment was made in tax year 2017.
• 2017:1098-T Box 1 – The box would be zero and Box 2 would include the amount of qualified tuition and related expenses charged for spring 2018 since it was due on 12/1/17 and was in tax year 2017.
• 2018: 1098-T Box 1 & Box 5- Any grants and scholarships disbursed in 2018 for spring 2018 qualified tuition and related expenses would appear on the 2018 1098-T in Box 1 & Box 5.

Scenario 2: Summer 2018 tuition and related expenses were paid on 5/15/18:

• 2018:1098-T Box 1 -The summer payment for qualified summer tuition and related expenses would be included in Box 1 since the payment was made in tax year 2018 for the summer 2018 term.
• 2018:1098-T Box 1 & Box 5 – Any grants and scholarships disbursed in 2018 for summer qualified tuition and related expenses would appear on the 2018 1098-T in Box 1 & Box 5.

Scenario 3: Spring 2019 tuition and fees are due on 12/1/18 and paid on 12/15/18.

• 2018:1098-T Box 1 – The spring 2019 qualified tuition and fees paid in 2018 would be included in Box 1 since the payment was made in 2018.
• 2019:1098-T Box 1 & Box 5 – The spring 2019 grants and scholarships disbursed in January 2019 for spring 2019 would appear on the 2019 1098-T in Box 1 & Box 5 since they occurred in tax year 2019.

Each year by January 31, Wake Forest University makes available via WIN (student must give online consent) or mails an IRS Form 1098-T to all students who had qualified tuition and other related educational expenses billed to them during the previous calendar year.

Beginning with tax year 2018, the 1098-T reports amounts paid for qualified tuition and educational expenses for the tax year (Box 1). For years prior to 2018, the University reported qualified amounts billed in Box 2.

The Scholarships and Grants (Box 5) are reported in the tax year that they were disbursed to the student’s account. For example, the 2018 1098-T Form would list spring 2018 financial aid (disbursed by the Office of Financial Aid the first day of classes-January 2018) and fall 2018 financial aid (disbursed by the Office of Financial Aid the first day of classes-August 2018).

Students and authorized payers can view their student account history by visiting DEAC which can assist them in determining amounts paid in a tax year. Match up the specific charges for 2018 semesters (spring 2018, summer 2018, fall 2018) with scholarships paid for those same semesters.

Please refer to IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education for additional resources. The Tax Treatment of Scholarship and Fellowship Payments table is located within that publication.

This website is informational only and should not be considered as tax opinion or advice. It serves to alert students that they may be eligible for federal income tax education credits.

Receipt of Form 1098-T does not indicate eligibility for the tax credit. IMPORTANT: It is the responsibility of each taxpayer to determine eligibility for the credits and how to calculate them.

1. Log into WIN and then navigate to ‘Personal’
2. To provide (or remove) consent, click on the ‘1098-T Electronic Consent’ link.
3. In order to provide consent, read the consent, click the checkbox and then press the ‘Submit’ button. To remove consent, uncheck the checkbox and press the ‘Submit’ button.
4. Once consent has been submitted or the user selected ‘1098-T Tax Form’ from the ‘Personal’ menu, the user must select the tax year.
5. Once the desired tax year is chosen, press the ‘Submit’ button and the 1098-T will be displayed. Click this guide for additional assistance:  Accessing Electronic 1098-T Forms via WIN
6. To print the form either:
   (a) Print directly from your browser and change the page settings to print in landscape orientation.
   (b)Copy and paste the page into a document editor (Microsoft Word, Google Docs, etc.) and print from there.

You must complete both steps below:

1- Grant consent to view your 1098-T electronically via WIN.
2- Establish proxy access for parents via WIN.

Proxy Access

Students can view past tax year 1098-T information via WIN:

1. Log into WIN
2. Select the Personal Tab
3. You must first give 1098-T Electronic Consent
4. If you have already granted consent, select 1098-T Tax Form
5. Select the tax year via the drop down menu and click on submit
6. The 1098-T is displayed
7. To print the form either:

*Print directly from your browser and change the page settings to print in landscape orientation.

* Copy and paste the page into a document editor (Microsoft Word, Google Docs, etc.) and print from there.

Due to the Family Educational Right of Privacy Act (FERPA), only students may request 1098-T form reprints by contacting Student Financial Services at 336.758.5234 or sfs@wfu.edu.

The University’s policy is to mail via the US Postal Service all reprint requests to the student’s permanent address on file.

Yes. Section 6050-S of the Internal Revenue Code, as enacted by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, requires institutions to file information returns to assist taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service in determining eligibility for the American Opportunity and Hope and Lifetime Learning education tax credits. Forms are mailed at the end of January of each year for the previous tax year, which runs from January 1 to December 31.

Qualified expenses include tuition and certain fees defined by law. It does not include room, board, insurance, travel, parking or any other personal, family or living expenses. For information about qualified educational expenses, click here.

Click here for an overview of the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Education Credits and allowable tuition and fee tax deductions. Publication 970 explains tax benefits for education.

The 1098-T reports all amounts paid for qualified tuition and educational expenses for the tax year. Please note that this differs from the academic calendar year. Tuition for Spring 2018 was due December 2017, which would not reflect on the 2018 1098-T tax form if payment was received prior to December 31, 2017.

Contact the IRS Tax Information Line at 800.829.1040 or your tax professional.