IRS Educational Tax Credits Information

Under the Tax Relief Act (TRA) of 1997, students, or tax payers claiming students as dependents, can claim a tax credit on their Federal income tax return for qualified tuition and fees paid during a calendar year. Qualified fees include tuition, lab fees, engineering equipment fees, and other fees necessary for the enrollment of a student during a given semester.

Housing charges, meal tickets, decal fees, flex accounts, and other non-tuition items do not qualify for reimbursement under the Hope or Lifetime Learning Tax Credits.

Qualified payments are payments paid out-of-pocket including cash payments, student loans, and payments made by the Alabama PACT Program. Scholarships, grants, employer/sponsor tuition assistance, and any other payments not paid out-of-pocket do not qualify for reimbursement and must be deducted from the tuition and fees charges.

If your grant and scholarship amounts received during the tax year meet or exceed what you were charged for tuition you may not receive a 1098-T form. Also, if you do not have a social security number on file or are enrolled using a foreign Visa you will not receive a 1098-T form.

Detailed information on the tax benefits for education can be found on the IRS website.

General Information

Fees Included in Box One

For a payment to appear on the 1098-T, it must be for “Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses”.

Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses

  • Fees
  • Books, equipment, supplies
  • Distance Learning Fees
  • Other mandatory fees

Non-Qualified Expenses

  • Room
  • Board
  • Fines
  • Permits
  • Late Payment Fees
  • Student Health Charges

Missing or Incorrect Social Security Number

Please contact the Registrar to report any changes to official university records.  

1098-T’s Available for International Students

All international students with 2023 1098-T reportable transactions will receive a 2023 1098-T from UAH.

How to Obtain the 1098-T Form 

The University has partnered with ECSI to receive your 1098-T Tuition Statement electronically beginning with the 2020 Tax Year. ECSI will mail statements to all students with reportable payments no later than January 31 to comply with the IRS deadlines. 

Electronic version of 1098-T for Tax Year 2023 will be available on the Heartland ECSI website at https://heartland.ecsi.net/index.html 

Questions about ECSI and your tax document can be answered at https://heartland.ecsi.net/index.main.html#/access/FAQtaxDocuments

What is the W9S Form?

Students use this form to:

  • Give their social security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) to an educational institution or a lender of a student loan
  • Certify that the proceeds of a loan are being used, or will be used, solely to pay for qualified higher education expenses, if applicable

W-9S Form

The University of Alabama in Huntsville does not provide assistance in completing tax returns