Tax Benefits for Education: 1098-T
The 1098-T form is used by eligible educational institutions to report information about
their students to the IRS as required by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. They are posted
to the MyMBC website by January 31st to all students who had qualified tuition and other
related educational expenses billed to them during the previous calendar year. This form
is informational only. It serves to alert students that they may be eligible for federal
income tax education credits. It should NOT be considered as tax opinions or advice.
While it is a good starting point, the 1098-T, as designed and regulated by the IRS, does
not contain all the information needed to claim a tax credit. IRS Publication 970 “Tax
Benefits for Higher Education” as well as Chapter 35 of the IRS Publication 17 provide
additional information on these credits. To determine the amount of qualified tuition and
fees paid, and the amount of scholarships and grants received, a taxpayer should use their
own financial records.
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. Once an
institution has selected one of these options, they cannot change reporting methods
between calendar years without permission from the IRS. Mary Baldwin reports
qualified tuition and related expenses that were billed during the tax year (Box 2);
therefore, Box 1 – payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses will be
blank.
The amount billed in Box 2 may not be the amount you can claim when filing your taxes.
The College is required to provide the “amount billed” and “scholarship and grant”
figures to help you determine the amount of qualified expenses you can claim on your
IRS Form 8863. Per Internal Revenue Code Section 25A, taxpayers may claim an
education tax credit only with respect to qualified tuition and related expenses PAID (not
billed) during the calendar year. You will need to review your payment records to
determine the actual qualified expenses paid. Remember that qualified amounts paid by
student loans may count as payments eligible for these purposes.
You may view and print your 1098-T information on the student portal, mymbc.mbc.edu.
Enter your user name and unique PIN you received for your MBC email account. Click
on the “My Accounts” tab and “My 1098T Info”.
To get a detailed list of your student account transactions, click on the “My Accounts”
tab, “My Account Balances”, and then click on the amount due.
If you have forgotten your PIN or need help signing onto the portal, please call CIS at
(540) 887-7075.
For information concerning your 1098T, please contact Patty Davis at pdavis@mbc.edu;
or (540) 887-7361.