1098T FAQs

The 1098T form is used by eligible educational institutions to report information about their students to the IRS. A 1098T form is considered for informational purposes only and must be provided to each student that qualifies. The 1098T form serves to alert students that they may be eligible for either the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) or the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC). Eligible educational institutions are required to submit the student's name, address, taxpayer’s identification number, enrollment status, academic status, payments (up to the amount of QTRE (qualified tuition and related expenses) billed), and scholarships & grants.

Please Note: It is the taxpayer’s responsibility to determine their eligibility for the educational credits and how to calculate them. Representatives of Arcadia University Do Not Give Tax Advice.

New: Change to IRS Reporting Requirements

Beginning in tax year 2018, all eligible educational institutions are required by the IRS to report Payments Received for Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses (Box 1) up to the cost of QTRE. Amounts Billed (Box 2, which will now be blank on the 1098T form). Scholarships & Grants will continue to be reported in Box 5.

The following are examples of qualified tuition and related expenses:

• Tuition costs
• Mandatory course, exam, & program fees
• Lab, general and student activity fees

The following are examples of unqualified tuition and related expenses:

• Room, board and health insurance charges
• Application, transcript, graduation, diploma and loan processing fees

• Cash, check, & credit card payments
• Loans (direct subsidized & unsubsidized, private, & Parent PLUS)
• Wire & third-party payments
• Scholarships & Grants

• Institutional Scholarships & Grants
• Outside Scholarships & Grants
• Third-party payments (which can include VA benefits, Government Agency payments and payments from employers)

The 1098T form serves to alert students that they may be eligible for federal income tax education credits. Receipt of a 1098T form does not in any way indicate a student’s eligibility for a tax credit. To determine the amount of qualified tuition and related expenses paid, and the amount of scholarships and grants received, a taxpayer should use their own financial records and if necessary, seek the expertise of a professional tax preparer.

For more information on both AOTC and LLC regarding eligibility, qualifying expenses, how to figure, claim credit, etc. please review IRS Publication 970. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf

If you graduated or left the University in the Spring semester, Box 1 could be blank because we bill the Spring semester at the end of the prior calendar year. Those fees would have been used in the calculation of QTRE in the prior year. Therefore, there would not be any QTRE in the current year to apply to any payments in the current year and we would not have any amount to report in Box 1.

The IRS does not require the generation of a 1098T form for:

• Students who are enrolled in non-degree/non-credit programs: 100% Audit
• Students who do not have any charges for Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses (QTRE)
• Students whose boxes contain all zeroes.

To retrieve your 1098-T electronically:

• Launch a web browser and go to https://tra.maximus.com/ 
• Click the “First Time Students” Button
• Enter your full First and Last names and the last 5 digits of your Social Security Number
• Click Submit
• If records are present for you, you will be instructed to create an account. Follow the instructions on the website to create a free account and retrieve your 1098-T. If records are not found for you or you have difficulty creating account, use the “Help” link in the left menu.

Please 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.

Yes. Arcadia University is an eligible educational institution and is required by law to file 1098T forms to assist taxpayers and the IRS in determining eligibility for the AOTC and LLC education tax credits. 1098T forms are filed with the IRS no later than March 31st of each tax year.

Arcadia University will report all payments made and scholarships/grants awarded, limited to QTRE, for a given calendar year (January 1 - December 31). This is based on the date the activity was applied to the account.

Arcadia University will have the 1098T forms mailed no later than January 31 of each year, as required by law. You will be notified by email when the forms are available online if you desire to retrieve them early. If you retrieve your form electronically, a paper copy will not be mailed to you. Please note that all forms are sent to your home address.

Account statements are available online by logging into Self Service or you may contact the Office of Student Accounts at 215-517-2330.

No. The address shown on Form 1098T form is irrelevant for IRS income tax filing purposes. The single most important information on the form is your social security number. If your SSN or ITIN is incorrect on your 1098T form, please complete a W9s and send it to busoffice@arcadia.edu.

If the 1098T form does not include the correct social security number (SSN/ITIN), please complete a W9s and send it to busoffice@arcadia.edu. We will update your form and a corrected one will be mailed to you. You could also retrieve a corrected form online from http://tra.maximus.com.

As it pertains to the 1098T form, Arcadia University needs to have the correct social security number for all students that attend the university to comply with the IRS requirements. Every year, as an eligible educational institution, Arcadia University must report enrollment information for all eligible students in connection with the AOTC and the LLC.

If you have discovered a discrepancy on your 1098T form, please contact the Office of Student Accounts at 215-517-2330 or email busoffice@arcadia.edu. A representative of Business Office will be happy to assist you.

If you did not receive a 1098T form due to a change of address, or you misplaced the form, you can print a duplicate form online from http://tra.maximus.com.

Arcadia University’s Federal identification number is 23-1352620. This number can also be found on the 1098T form in the middle left section.

Please contact the Office of Student Accounts at 215-517-2330 or email busoffice@arcadia.edu.