1098-T Frequently Asked Questions

Contact Us

By email: Student Accounts and Billing Office

By phone: 404.727.6095

The Student Accounts and Billing Office produces a 1098-T form for all students who had qualified tuition and other related educational expenses during the previous calendar year. To access the 1098-T tax form, sign in to OPUS and from the Student homepage, select the Student Account tile “View 1098-T Tax Data.” The forms are provided online via OPUS self-service as well as mailed to those students who have not yet opted out of receiving a paper copy.

Emory University is unable to provide individual tax advice. Nothing on this website shall be construed as the offering of tax advice. Emory University recommends seeking the advice of a professional tax adviser.

The following sites may also help you: 


Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 

(Type 1098-T in the search box)

IRS Publication 970

“Tax Benefits for Education”


About the 1098-T Form

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. Eligible educational institutions are required to submit the student’s name, address, taxpayer's identification number (TIN), and enrollment and academic status. This form is informational only. It serves to alert students they may be eligible for federal income tax education credits. It should not be considered tax opinion or advice. Claiming education tax benefits is a voluntary decision for those who may qualify.

As required by IRS regulations, Emory University makes available in January each year an IRS form 1098-T to all students who had qualified tuition and other related educational expenses during the previous calendar year.

The 1098-T form is informational only and should not be considered as tax opinion or advice. It serves to alert students they may be eligible for federal income tax education credits. Taxpayers do not file the 1098-T form with their tax returns. Receipt of the 1098-T form does not indicate eligibility for the tax credit. To determine the amount of qualified tuition and fees paid and the amount of scholarships and grants received, taxpayers should use their own financial records.

Yes. Section 6050S of the Internal Revenue Code, as enacted by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, requires institutions to file information returns to assist taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service in determining eligibility for education tax credits.

IRS regulations define qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) as fees required to be paid to the institution as a condition of the student's enrollment or attendance.

Qualified tuition and related expenses do not include the following types of expenses:

  • Room and board
  • Transportation
  • Insurance premiums or medical expenses
  • Other personal living or family expenses

Scholarships and grants are reported in Box 5 on the 1098-T form. Payments from any source including loans and scholarships are reported in Box 1 up to the amount of qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE).

For information about eligibility and filing for credits/deductions, consult Publication 970, “Tax Benefits for Education” on the Internal Revenue Service website.

The 1098-E is a student loan interest statement provided by our student loan servicer, Heartland ECSI. This form is completely separate from form 1098-T and is provided to all students who have paid student loan interest.

If you did not receive this form, you can request/print a duplicate 1098-E form at Heartland/ECSI. Select the Borrower menu and follow the instructions. You will need to know your ECSI ID and pin that has been provided to you as a borrower in repayment.

Getting Your 1098-T Form

If a 1098-T form was generated for you, then you can view and access it in OPUS. Click on the Student Account tile and then “View 1098-T Tax Data” on the left menu.

For security reasons, only the last five years of the 1098-T form will be made available in OPUS if one was generated for you. Contact our office at studentaccounts@emory.edu if earlier years are needed.

An itemized listing of the payments for qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) and scholarships/grants can be found by clicking on the “Year Details” link within the View 1098-T Tax Data tab in OPUS.

If you have set up a guest access account for an authorized user, the guest can only access the 1098-T details page and not the actual 1098-T form itself. If a guest wants a printed copy of the 1098-T form, you will need to print the 1098-T form for the guest.

You have the option to go green and consent to receive the 1098-T form electronically only. If you would like to opt out of receiving your 1098-T form by US mail, please give your consent by logging into OPUS. Click on the Student Account tile. Select the “View 1098-T Tax Data” link on the left menu and then click on the Grant Consent button.

Note: Consent must be given prior to January before the 1098-T forms are generated in mid-January. Should you decide later that you would like to revoke this consent to receive your 1098-T form by US mail, contact our office at studentaccounts@emory.edu.

What’s Included on the Form?

Beginning with tax year 2018, Emory University will report payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) amounts paid during the year.

Amounts paid to a student account for housing, meal plans, parking, health insurance, and other nonrequired fees will not be included in the Box 1 amount.

For tax year 2017 and prior years, this box contained the sum of all tuition and fees billed to a student's account, less any amounts by which tuition was reduced due to a reduction in course load or withdrawal. Decreases in amounts due on a student’s account due to scholarship payments, student payments, or other payments were not included in Box 2. Amounts billed to a student account for housing, meal plans, parking, health insurance, or other nonrequired fees were not included in the Box 2 amount.

Beginning with tax year 2018, IRS regulations require that all universities report in Box 1 the amount of qualified tuition and related expenses paid during the year. Box 2 is no longer allowed.

Beginning with tax year 2018, IRS regulations require that all universities report in Box 1 the amount of payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) during the year. Box 2 is no longer allowed.

Adjustments including changes made to items originally reported in Box 1 or Box 2 on a prior calendar year form 1098-T. This amount may reduce any allowable education credit that you claimed for the prior year (which may result in an increase in tax liability for the year of the refund). See “recapture” in the index to the IRS Publication 970 to report a reduction in your education credit or tuition and fees deduction.

This box contains the sum of all scholarships or grants Emory University administered and processed to the student’s account during the calendar year. Scholarships or grants that pay for tuition (qualified scholarships) as well as for housing, books, and other expenses (nonqualified scholarships) will be included in this amount. Payments received from third parties and VA benefits that are applied to the student account for educational expenses are included in this box.

Decreases or refunds of scholarship amounts related to scholarships reported in a previous year are included in this box. This amount is reported as a positive number per IRS requirements. However, it is actually a decrease to the amount that was reported on a prior year 1098-T.

This box will be checked if the amount reported in Box 1 includes payments received on qualified tuition and related expenses to a student account in the current year for a semester beginning between January and March of the next calendar year.

A check in this box indicates that you are or have been enrolled at Emory University at least half time for at least one semester during the calendar year.

This box will be checked if you are a student enrolled in a program leading to a graduate-level degree.

This box is not used by Emory University, so it will be blank. It shows the total amount of reimbursements or refunds of qualified tuition and related expenses made by an insurer.