Tax Information

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.

The 1098-T reports amounts billed for qualified educational expenses for the tax year (Box 2). An important reminder is that spring tuition and fees are billed in December. For example, the 2017 1098-T Form would list fall 2017 (billed 7/1/17), summer 2017 (billed 5/1/17) and spring 2018 (billed 11/1/17) tuition and fees. Spring 2017 tuition and fees would be listed on the 2016 1098-T form since it was billed 11/1/16.

The Scholarships and Grants (Box 5) are reported in the tax year that they were disbursed to the student’s account. For example, the 2017 1098-T Form would list spring 2017 financial aid (disbursed by the Office of Financial Aid the first day of classes-January 2017) and fall 2017 financial aid (disbursed by the Office of Financial Aid the first day of classes-August 2017). This difference in billing year and payment year can require the 1098-T amounts to be modified for your calendar year tax return. 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 2017 semesters (spring 2017, summer 2017, fall 2017) with scholarships paid for those same semesters. If 2017 semester charges exceed 2017 semester scholarships, you may be eligible for a Tax Credit, because the difference is the amount you paid. If the 2017 semester charges are lower than the 2017 semester scholarships, then you have taxable income from non-tuition scholarships. This happens when you receive scholarships that cover room, board, insurance, travel or other personal or living expenses.

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.

The IRS instructs institutions to report either payments received (Box 1) or amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses (Box 2) on the 1098-T. Wake Forest reports qualified tuition and related expenses that were billed during the tax year (Box 2) and scholarships and grants (Box 5). Therefore, Box 1 will be blank.

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.

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