Tax Information
IRS Form 1098-T
Important Information for Millersville University Students
As of January 26, 2023, 1098-T tax forms are available in the Student Account Manager (SAM) platform. You may also receive an Internal Revenue Form 1098-T in the mail. The University is required to issue this form to each student who attended at any time during the 2022 calendar year. Retain this important form for income tax preparation purposes for 2022. If you are unable to electronically view and/or do not receive a Form 1098-T shortly after January 31, please visit https://heartland.ecsi.net/ and follow instructions under the "Previous Year" accordion below to retrieve a copy.
Form 1098-T provides part of the information you need to claim education tax benefits provided by the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits. Depending on your income (or your family’s income, if you are a dependent), your enrollment status, and the amount of qualified educational expenses for the year, you may be eligible for a federal education tax credit. You can find detailed information about claiming education tax credits in IRS Publication 970, page 9.
The Form 1098-T is an informational tool only. It should be used along with the taxpayer’s own records of tuition and fee amounts paid to complete IRS Form 8863 to claim the tax credit.
This information is provided in the required format by the IRS and does not represent tax advice from the University. The taxpayer should refer to relevant IRS forms and publications or seek the counsel of an informed tax preparer or adviser. Please do not contact the University for an explanation relating to the eligibility requirements for, or calculations of, any allowable education tax credit.
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IMPORTANT CHANGE AS OF TAX YEAR 2018
Prior to 2018, the Form 1098-T included a figure in Box 2 that represented the qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) Millersville University billed to your student account for the calendar (tax) year. Due to a change to institutional reporting requirements under federal law, beginning with tax year 2018, universities were required to report in Box 1 the amount of QTRE paid during the year.
Box 1 represents amounts paid in calendar year 2022, capped at the total amount of QTRE billed in calendar year 2022 plus previously unpaid QTRE charges from 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Keep in mind that the university begins billing for the Spring semester in November of the previous year, but most payments, including most financial aid payments occur after January 1 of the following year.
You should work with your tax preparer to determine the amounts you can claim as payments for 2022 based upon your financial records. The university can provide you with details of payments and charges on your account, if needed, to assist you in completing your tax return.
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WHAT INFORMATION IS ON THE 1098-T?
Academic years do not correspond to tax years. Below are explanations of each box on the 1098-T to help clarify the financial data reported. It is important to remember that the amounts on this form consists of charges assessed and payments made in a calendar year, not in an academic year.
Box 1. Amounts paid for qualified tuition and related expenses. The amount in Box 1 reflects payments from all sources received in 2022 for qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) charged in 2022, plus any 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 unreported (previously unpaid) charges, less any reimbursements or refunds made during the year. Box 1 amount is capped at the total QTRE billed.
Box 2. In previous years, Box 2 reported charges billed. Effective 2018 the IRS is requiring all schools to report payments received in Box 1. Box 2 will be BLANK.
Box 4. Adjustments made for a prior year. This box reflects refunds or reimbursements made in 2022 that relate to payments received and reported to the IRS in any prior year. However, since the university did not report payments received before 2018, Box 4 will reflect refunds made in 2022 related to payments received in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 only.
Box 5. Shows the total of all scholarships and grants posted to the student account in 2022. This reporting requirement has not changed from previous years. Amounts are reported in Box 5 regardless of any qualified or non-qualified expenses posted in 2022. Amounts in Box 5 are also reported in Box 1 as payments.
Box 6. Shows any reductions in scholarships or grants that were reported on a prior year 1098-T.
Box 7. If this box is checked, the amount in Box 1 contains payments posted in 2022 for the Spring 2023 semester.
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WHAT ARE THE QUALIFIED TUITION AND RELATED EXPENSES (QTRE)?
Only payments that pay qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) will show in Box 1. QTRE are those fees that a student must pay that are within the IRS guidelines. Below is a chart of Qualified vs Non-Qualified expenses.
Qualified
Non-Qualified
Tuition
Room
Technology Fee
Meals
General Fee
Flex Dollars or Marauder Gold
Academic Support Fee
Late Fees
Doctorate Fee
Room damage fees
Lost or replacement key charges
Degree Fee
Study Abroad Program Fees
Orientation Fee
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HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM ELIGIBLE FOR A TAX CREDIT?
Employees of Millersville University cannot assist with tax form preparation, nor supply advice on what can or cannot be claimed. Please do not contact the university for that purpose. You are encouraged to consult a tax advisor and refer to federal Publication 970 from the IRS.
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I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE AMOUNTS OR THEY DO NOT AGREE WITH MY RECORDS
If you would like an itemized breakdown of the QTRE and payments you made in the tax year, please email the Office of Student Accounts at osa@millersville.edu and include your M#.
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I GRADUATED IN SPRING 2022. WHY DOESN'T BOX 1 SHOW THE PAYMENT I MADE IN 2022?
Due to the transition from reporting Box 2 charges to Box 1 payments effective 2018, and the fact that the university billed for Spring 2022 in the calendar year 2021, payments for qualified charges may have reached the cap limit in 2021 and there may not have been any remaining qualified charges to be paid in 2022. If any new qualified charges were posted for Spring in 2022, then a payment may show in Box 1 for those 2022 charges only. Even though Box 1 may be blank or show a lower amount than you actually paid, you do not have to claim what we report. The 1098-T is for informational purposes only. The university can also supply you with an itemized breakdown of charges and payments for your records if you plan to claim an amount other than what is reported on your 1098-T. You can email your request, including your M#, to osa@millersville.edu.
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CAN MY PARENT, SPOUSE, OR TAX PREPARER SPEAK TO MILLERSVILLE REGARDING MY 1098-T FORM?
Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), only the student, or those persons the student has authorized via SAM, may contact OSA for information or assistance regarding the 1098-T form. To grant permission to another individual, please login to www.millersville.edu/sam, choose ‘Authorized Users’ under the My Profile heading and enter the email address of the person you would like to authorize. Any authorized users will have access to the 1098T form via www.millersville.edu/pay.
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I AM NO LONGER A CURRENT STUDENT OR I NEED A PREVIOUS YEAR'S 1098-T FORM.
Students who fall into these populations may visit Heartland ECSI’s website at https://heartland.ecsi.net. (Make sure you turn off your Pop-up blocker for this site.)
- Click on the Tax Documents box
Select "CLICK HERE TO SEARCH FOR YOUR TAX FORM".
- Type Millersville University in the School Name field.
- Click on Millersville University to select it and click Submit.
- Enter First Name, Last Name, SSN, and Zip code in the required fields. (The information entered must exactly match the information Millersville University has on file – keep this in mind if you have recently moved.)
- Check the box for "I am not a robot" and verify the information requested by the website. Once completed, click Verify. (You may or may not be asked to verify information; it will depend on the internet browser you are using).
- Click Continue.
- The Tax Document Information window appears, listing the tax forms.
- Click on the + sign to the right of the delivery status to provide the tax form detail, as well as printing options.
- Click View/Print Statement link under the 1098-T statement header. (Please turn off the pop-up block on your web browser for the 1098-T to appear.)
If you have problems navigating the Heartland ECSI website, please call 1-866-428-1098.