1098-T Explained: Scholarships, Taxes, and Credits

Each year, millions of families receive a tax form if they paid for college expenses. Form 1098-T, the Tuition Statement, is issued by colleges and is meant to help taxpayers claim education tax credits. However, it frequently creates confusion about scholarships, taxable income, and who owes what.

For families paying for college, a misunderstanding can mean missed tax credits, unexpected taxes for students, or errors that ripple into health insurance subsidies and future financial aid.

Below is what you need to know about the 1098-T, how it works, and what families need to watch closely — especially when scholarships are involved.

What Is Form 1098-T and Where Does It Come From?

Eligible colleges, universities, and vocational schools must send Form 1098-T to students who paid qualified education expenses during the year. Schools must mail or make the form available electronically by January 31, and they file a copy with the IRS by February 28 (or the next business day if that falls on a weekend or holiday).

The form exists to help taxpayers claim education tax benefits, primarily:

• The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC)
• The Lifetime Learning Credit

It does not calculate taxes. It does not show what a family owes. It simply reports amounts the school received and scholarships it processed.

Who Receives A 1098-T?

The form is issued to the student, even if a parent paid the bill. That matters because:

• Parents claim education credits only if the student is their dependent.
• Scholarships are taxed to the student, not the parent.

Schools must send a 1098-T when a student paid qualified education expenses, which generally include:

• Tuition
• Required enrollment fees
• Required course materials

Room and board are not qualified expenses for education tax credits, even though they are often charged by the school.

Key Boxes To Know

Understanding a few boxes explains most of the form.

Box 1: Payments Received

This shows how much the school actually received during the year for qualified tuition and related expenses. It may not match the semester shown on the bill, because schools report when payments are received, not when classes occur.

Box 5: Scholarships and Grants

This shows scholarships and grants the school applied to the student’s account. These amounts often reduce how much tuition families can use to claim tax credits.

Crucially, Box 5 does not tell you whether a scholarship is taxable. That depends on how the money is used.

Box 8 and Box 9

• Box 8: Student was enrolled at least half-time
• Box 9: Student was enrolled in a graduate program

These boxes matter for credit eligibility, especially the AOTC.

Financial Consequences

This form can have several financial consequences.

Scholarships and Taxes: What Is Tax-Free and What Is Not

Scholarships are often assumed to be tax-free. That is only partly true. Sometimes scholarships are taxable.

Tax-Free Scholarships

The following uses are tax-free:

• Tuition
• Required fees
• Computers, books, and required supplies

A simple formula applies:

Tax-free scholarship = qualified expenses
(typically Box 1 of the 1098-T, plus required books and supplies not billed by the school)

Taxable Scholarships

Scholarships used for the following are taxable income to the student:

• Room and board
• Travel
• Insurance
• Other non-required expenses

It does not matter whether the money was paid to the school or to the student.

Coordinating With Tax Credits

The AOTC is worth up to $2,500 per student, but only if there are at least $4,000 of qualified expenses available to claim.

Some families fall short because scholarships cover most or all tuition.

Here’s where the tax rules matter.

If the scholarship’s terms allow it, families can treat part of a scholarship as paying for room and board, even if the school applied it to tuition. That portion becomes taxable income to the student — but it can free up tuition expenses so a parent can claim the full AOTC.

The IRS explicitly allows this coordination in its education tax guidance.

In practice:

• The student may owe a small amount of tax.
• The family may receive a much larger tax credit.

For many households, the math works in their favor. 

Bottom line

The 1098-T is a starting point, not an answer sheet. It can be helpful to unlock valuable tax credits and clarify when scholarships are taxable. However, it can also lead families to overpay taxes or miss benefits they are entitled to claim.

For families navigating college costs, understanding this form is less about paperwork — and more about keeping more money where it belongs.

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