If your child had more qualified charges (Box 2) for the calendar year than they had in scholarships and grants (Box 5), the college is required to send the 1098-T form.
An eligible educational institution, such as a college or university in which you are enrolled, and an insurer who makes reimbursements or refunds of qualified tuition and related expenses to you must furnish this statement to you. You, or the person who can claim you as a dependent, may be able to claim an education credit on Form 1040 or 1040A, only for the qualified tuition and related expenses that were actually paid in the tax year in question. To see if you qualify for the credit, see Pub. 970, Tax Benefits for Education; Form 8863, Education Credits; and the Form 1040 or 1040A instructions.
The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (TRA97) introduced several tax incentives on qualifying student loans. The Hope and Lifetime Learning credits provide the ability to take a tax credit for qualifying educational expense. TRA also provides a deduction for the interest paid on qualifying student loans. The Student Loan Interest Deduction is reported on an IRS Form 1098E. The Hope, Lifetime Learning, and American Opportunity Credits are reported on an IRS Form 1098T.
Institutions may report either payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses during the calendar year in box 1 or amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses during the calendar year in box 2. The amount shown in box 1 or 2 may represent an amount other than the amount actually paid in the tax year in question. All colleges governed by the Technical College System of Georgia report information in box 2, amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses during the calendar year.
Colleges and Universities are required to send you this form so that you can use it to determine if you are eligible and what dollar amount you can claim for either the American Opportunity Credit or Lifetime Learning tax Credits. All students with an enrollment record for the current tax year or any student who was not enrolled in the current tax year but for whom there was a prior-year adjustment made in the current year will receive a Form 1098T.
The information on the 1098T form is provided to assist each Student/Taxpayer in preparing the IRS FORM 8863, which is used to claim the American Opportunity or Lifetime Learning Credits. Once complete, the 8863 should be attached to the Student/Taxpayer’s return to determine eligibility and the amount of the Education credit (if any) that he/she may be entitled to on their Individual Income Tax Return.
There is no IRS requirement that you claim tuition and fees deduction or an education-related tax credit.
Savannah Technical College cannot offer tax advice regarding your tax forms. If you have any questions about the credits or how much interest you can deduct, you should consult with a qualified tax professional or contact the IRS Taxpayer Assistance line at 1-800-829-1040. The IRS website has many documents concerning TRA-97, including self-help topics for tax filers.
The college or university is not required to file a Form 1098T for students whose amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses (Box 2) are zero, when scholarship and grant amounts (Box 5) exceed or equal the qualified tuition and related expenses billed, when all other amounts are zero, for nonresident aliens, or for students enrolled only in noncredit (Continuing Education) courses. This does not necessarily mean a tax record was not created on the BANNER student account. If a student does not receive a Form 1098T, they can retrieve their tax information through their BANNER self-service student account.
Sign in to the Heartland ECSI website:
https://heartland.ecsi.net/index.main.html#/access/eConsent
If this is your first time signing in, complete the electronic consent process and create an account. Once completed, you will be able to download your Form 1098T.
If no information is found in Heartland ECSI and you cannot obtain a certificate number, a Form 1098T may not have been generated based on federal regulations. However, you can still retrieve your tax information from your BANNER self-service account.
To access your 1098T information:
- Go to the Students page on the Savannah Technical College website.
- Log in to MySTC.
Contact the STC Business Office at 912.443.4716 if you have any issues.