File Form 1098-T Online for 2026 Tax Year

What Is Form 1098-T?

Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement, is the IRS information return filed by eligible educational institutions for reportable students and by insurers for individuals who received reimbursements or refunds of qualified tuition and related expenses.

The form helps students, or individuals who claim them as dependents, determine if they qualify for education tax credits like the American Opportunity Tax Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit.

Who Must File Form 1098-T?

An eligible educational institution must file Form 1098-T for each enrolled student for whom a reportable transaction is made.

Insurers engaged in a trade or business of making refunds or reimbursements of qualified tuition and related expenses must file Form 1098-T for each individual to whom they made those refunds or reimbursements.

The IRS lists four exceptions:

• You are not required to file or provide a statement for courses that do not offer academic credit, even if the student is enrolled in a degree program.
• Nonresident alien students, unless the student requests it
• Students whose qualified tuition and related expenses are entirely waived or paid entirely with scholarships
• Students for whom the institution does not maintain a separate financial account and whose qualified tuition and related expenses are covered by a formal billing arrangement with the student's employer or a governmental entity, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs or Department of Defense.

What Must Be Reported on Form 1098-T?

Form 1098-T captures the following for each reportable student, and Box 10 is used by insurers for insurance contract reimbursements or refunds:

• Payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses (Box 1)
• Adjustments made for a prior year (Box 4)
• Scholarships or grants administered and processed by the institution (Box 5)
• Adjustments to scholarships or grants for a prior year (Box 6)
• Checkbox for amounts that include payments for an academic period beginning in January through March of the following year (Box 7)
• Whether the student was enrolled at least half-time (Box 8)
• Whether the student was enrolled in a graduate program (Box 9)

Boxes 2 and 3 are currently unused on Form 1098-T and should be left blank, as the IRS has reserved them for possible future use.

What's New in Form 1098-T for the 2026 Tax Year?

For 2026, the IRS separated the Filer’s, Student’s, Recipient’s, and Borrower’s address fields into individual entry boxes. Eligible institutions should continue using the current Instructions for Forms 1098-E and 1098-T when filing 2026 information in early 2027.

Form 1098-T Filing Requirements

Before filing, institutions should make sure the underlying records support every figure on the return:

• The IRS expects you to report payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses, not amounts billed, so student account records should clearly distinguish payments from charges and tie back to the calendar year.
• Retain scholarship and grant records that match what's reported, along with any prior-year adjustment history.
• Collect each student's name, address, and TIN. The IRS allows you to use Form W-9S, Request for Student's or Borrower's Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, to solicit this information. Its use is optional; if the institution solicited the student’s TIN in writing, it can check the student’s TIN checkbox and certify compliance with IRS TIN solicitation rules.
• eFiling becomes mandatory once you file 10 or more information returns in aggregate across all types during the year, unless an IRS waiver applies.
• Penalties for late or incorrect filings follow the IRS's standard tiered penalty structure: $60 per form within 30 days of the deadline, $130 by August 1, $340 after August 1, or $680 per form for intentional disregard.

Form 1098-T Due Dates for the 2026 Tax Year

For 2026 tuition information reported in early 2027, the IRS deadlines are:

If a due date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the deadline to file moves to the next business day.

How to eFile Form 1098-T with 1099Online

1099Online provides eligible educational institutions a guided way to eFile Form 1098-T, with secure submission to the IRS through the Information Returns Intake System (IRIS).

Step 1: Enter Student and Payment Information
Sign in, select Form 1098-T, and add your institution's details and EIN. Enter student data manually or use the Excel bulk import for high-volume filings. Multiple EINs are supported under a single account, which is useful for tax professionals filing for several institutions. Add each student's name, address, and TIN, along with payments received for qualified tuition (Box 1), scholarships or grants (Box 5), prior-year adjustments where applicable, and the half-time and graduate enrollment indicators.

Step 2: Choose Recipient Copy Delivery
Select how students receive Copy B. 1099Online supports password-protected email delivery and USPS print and mail.

Step 3: Review and Transmit
Review the filing summary and submit Form 1098-T to the IRS through 1099Online. If a return is rejected, you can reFile at no extra cost.

Frequently asked questions