1098-T Tax Information

New reporting method effective 2018

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) started in 2018, required colleges and universities to report “the total amount of payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses from all sources during the calendar year less any reimbursements or refunds” on a 1098-T. 1098-Ts must be issued in January of each year for the previous tax/calendar year. JCC reports payments that were received during the current calendar year for qualified tuition and related expenses.

Please be aware that the responsibility for your individual tax circumstances rests with the taxpayer alone, and JCC cannot take any responsibility for your interpretation of this information. If you have questions or need further assistance please contact your tax advisor or refer to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Publication 970.

What is a Form 1098-T and why do I need one? All eligible educational institutions must file a Form 1098-T to report information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for the amount billed to you by JCC over the course of the previous calendar year .The purpose of the 1098-T is to help you and/or your tax professional determine if you are eligible for an Education Tax Credit. Please note that your 1098-T form may not provide all of the information you need to determine eligibility for tax credits and deductions. Eligibility for any tax benefit depends upon your individual facts and circumstances and the JCC cannot provide you with any tax advice.

When will I receive my 1098-T? For those who opt to access their 1098-T forms electronically, forms will be available sometime prior to January 31. For those opting to receive a paper form, 1098-Ts will be mailed by January 31 to qualifying students’ permanent addresses.

To retrieve your 1098-T electronically you must opt-in and give consent to receive your 1098-T form electronically:

Step 1: Website: https://heartland.ecsi.net/index.main.html#/access/eConsent

Step 2: Signup for Electronic Statements by entering your Student ID (not SSN!), Name, and Email Address (with the option to include an alternate email address). ECSI's website is a secure website and ECSI will not share your private information with anyone. This email is strictly sent to gather your consent for receiving an electronic 1098-T Form.

Step 3: Read information, check box, and click submit.

Once you opt-in to receive your 1098-T electronically, you will receive an email from ECSI with instructions on how to access.

Where can I obtain additional information about this form? You should refer to IRS tax form 8863 and Publication 970 when completing your forms. If you are experiencing difficulty completing the form, JCC urges you to contact your accountant, tax preparer, or the Internal Revenue Service regarding the application of this form to your taxes. Employees of JCC cannot provide tax advice.

Is this form a bill? No, it is not a bill nor a request for payment.

Is this form a source of income that I must include on my tax forms? No, this form is a statement of the amount paid for qualifying tuition and related expenses during the current calendar year. However, while not an income reporting form, if scholarships and grants exceed qualified expenses then this may be considered reportable income. You should consult your tax advisor to make this determination.

How is the amount determined? See How do I read a 1098-T Form – Box 1 below.

How do I read my Form 1098-T? Below is a sample form and descriptions for boxes 1-10.

• Box 1. Please note Box 1 is payments received by JCC for qualified tuition and related expenses less refunds during the current year. Not all charges are qualifying.
• Box 2. Will be blank. However, qualifying charges are detailed on your Banner account. The following categories of charges are included or not included in determining qualified tuition and related expenses:
  • Included charges: Tuition, general college fees, special class fees, course/lab fees, technology fee, student activity fee
  • Not included charges: Fines, health insurance premiums/health fee, credit by exam/prior learning credit fee, tuition installment plan fee, room and board charges, course related books and equipment, registration fees paid for non-credit courses, phys ed lab fee
• Box 3. Our reporting method did not change for reporting payments.
• Box 4. Adjustments made for a prior year are detailed on your Banner account.
• Box 5. This box contains the sum of all scholarships JCC administered and processed for the student’s account during the calendar year. Scholarships that pay for tuition (qualified scholarships) as well as for housing, books, and other expenses (non-qualified scholarships) will be included in this amount. Tuition waivers and payments received from third parties that are applied to student accounts for educational expenses are included in this box. The amount of scholarships or grants for the calendar year may reduce the amount of the education credit you claim for the year.
• Box 6 of Form 1098-T reports adjustments made to scholarships or grants reported on a prior year Form 1098-T in Box 4. The amount reported in Box 6 represents a reduction in scholarships or grants reported for a prior calendar year. The amount reported in Box 6 for adjustments to scholarships or grants may affect the amount of any allowable tuition and fees deduction or education credit you may claim for the prior year. 
• Box 7. This box will be checked if the amount reported in Box 1 includes tuition or qualified amounts paid by a student account in the current year for qualifying tuition or expenses for a semester beginning in the next calendar year. For example, a payment made in December of the current year for the upcoming Spring will be reported on your current 1098-T. Box 7 will be checked to indicate that this is the case.
• Box 8. Shows whether you are considered to be carrying at least one-half the normal full-time workload for your course of study at the reporting institution. If you are at least a half-time student for at least one academic period that begins during the year, you meet one of the requirements for the American opportunity credit. You do not have to meet the workload requirement to qualify for the lifetime learning credit.
• Box 9. Shows whether you are considered to be enrolled in a program leading to a graduate degree, graduate-level certificate, or other recognized graduate-level educational credential. This box will be blank.
• Box 10. Shows the total amount of reimbursements or refunds of qualified tuition and related expenses made by an insurer. This box will be blank.

Who do I contact if I think the information is incorrect? It is important to remember that the amount on this form consists of charges assessed by JCC in a calendar year. Contact the Business Office at 716.338.1003.

I’m a parent. Can I have my student’s 1098-T form sent to me? Students must make all information requests. The student is responsible for providing information to other parties in accordance with FERPA (Family Education Right to Privacy Act). http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html.

Can I access my 1098-T online? To retrieve your 1098-T electronically you must opt-in.

If you have any general questions, please visit http://www.ecsi.net/taxinfo.html for information regarding your tax documents and to obtain contact information for ECSI. If you have any questions regarding the information on your 1098-T, please contact your school at 716.338.1003. If you experience trouble with your web login, please feel free to contact ECSI at 866.428.1098. Neither your school nor ECSI can answer tax questions, you must contact your tax professional.

Remember, by acknowledging that you are receiving this form electronically, a hard copy form will not be mailed to you. However, you can go to the website as often as needed to retrieve a copy.

Why is it that I don’t have any information on the Form 1098-T or I never received a Form 1098-T in the mail? JCC is not required to file Form 1098-T or furnish a statement for:

• ​If your billed amounts consisted of only non-credit courses, even if the student is otherwise enrolled in a degree program.
• International (foreign) students who are not U.S. residents for tax purposes (who have not been in the U.S. less than 5 years).
• Students classified as non-resident aliens.
• If you paid for your enrollment fees, but dropped all your classes and received a refund during that calendar year, then you would not receive a Form 1098-T.
• If your address on record is out-of-date, your Form 1098-T may have been returned.

Why do my records not match the tuition and fee payments reflected on my Form 1098-T? When reviewing your records, please take into consideration actual registration dates in order to reconcile your records in the amounts on the form. The 1098-T form reflects payment and refunds made in the calendar year for qualifying tuition and expenses. The following expenses do not qualify as tuition and related expenses for community colleges: 1) Remote Registration Fee; 2) books; 3) parking permits; 4) housing.