1098-T Form

A 1098-T Tuition Statement reports qualified tuition payments and financial aid awarded to students enrolled in courses during the calendar year for which they receive academic credit. 

Online Access to 1098-T Forms

Stony Brook Univeristy partners with Heartland ECSI to deliver the 1098-T statements. The Heartland 1098-T website is available 24/7 providing students access to their tax statements. It allows students to view and print their 1098-T tuition statement.

Go to heartland.ecsi.net, then:

1. Click on the "I need my 1098-T Tuition tax statement". 
2. Search for "SUNY at Stony Brook".  Select and click "Submit".
3. The student Identification page will be displayed. Complete the fields for First Name, Last Name, SSN, and Zip Code.
4. Click the checkbox “I am not a robot,” then click “continue.”
5. Your personal 1098T page will be displayed. Click the (+) to expand the 1098-T Statement section to see your statement details as well as a link to a printer friendly version of your 1098T statement.

Need help logging in to Heartland ECSI? Please call 866-428-1098, Monday – Friday, 7:30am – 8:00pm EST.

Accessing your 1098-T through SOLAR

1. Log into your SOLAR account
2. Navigate to Campus Financial Services -> Account Information/Payment ->  1098T  Form
3. Enter the year in which you want the form for. 
Please be advised, you may need to disable your pop-up blocker on your computer in order to view the form.

Understanding your 1098-T

The university must file a 1098-T with the IRS for enrolled students with a reportable transaction.

Please note, depending on when you enroll for spring classes, your  Spring  charges  may post in   December of the previous year  when the spring term is billed. If you made payment for your Spring charges by December 31 of the previous year, the payments were reflected on the 1098T statement in Box 1.

For tax years 2017 and prior:   the university did NOT report Box 1, student payments, but did report Box 2, the IRS qualified charges assessed during the tax year.

Beginning with the 2018 tax year, the university began reporting Box 1 Payments, and NOT Box 2.

A 1098-T form is automatically mailed to students with a U.S. citizenship status of native, naturalized, or permanent resident on university records. As required by law, your 1098-T statement will be mailed by January 31st of the following year. Students without one of these three US citizenship statuses, or students with a non-resident alien status will not have a 1098-T automatically generated.

To request a 1098-T be generated, please contact Student Financial Services at  studentbilling@stonybrook.edu or via LiveChat on our contact page.
If you do not have a SSN or ITN on file we cannot generate a 1098-T for you.
We will generate the current year’s 1098-T upon receipt of your request AND a completed  modified W-9S form (PDF) Download pdf  (available from the Registrar's office). The deadline to request the current tax year’s 1098-T form is July 1, Please allow 5-7 business days for your request to be completed.

We cannot provide tax advice or assistance related to the credit or how to claim the credit.  The 1098-T, along with your copy of your billing statements, should be used by your tax preparer to determine your eligibility for a tax credit.

Disclaimer 

This material has not been approved by the IRS or the U.S. Treasury and is not an official document. It is offered as a service to the Stony Brook University student and families. This is not an official form nor does it necessarily represent official policy of the State University of New York. This material has not been reviewed or approved by an attorney.

FAQs

• What is Stony Brook's Federal Tax Identification number?

  The Federal Tax Identification number is 16-1514621.

• What is Form 1098-T?

  The University is required to furnish Form 1098-T each January to all students who have incurred qualified tuition and related expenses during the prior year. This information will help alert the student, or the person that claims the student, that there is a possibilty of being eligible to claim the American Oppurtunity Tax Credit or Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. IRS Form 1098 -T is informational only.

  Box 2 shows the total amounts billed for qualified tuition and related expenses less any reductions in charges. Qualifying expenses at Stony Brook include tuition, college fee, athletic fee, student activity free, technology fee and course fees. Non qualifying expenses are the transportation, infirmary, insurance, room, apartment, and meal plan fees. (Note that Box 1 is left blank intentionally, as SUNY schools do not report based on payments received but instead report amounts billed).

  Box 5 shows the total of all scholarships or grants administrated and processed. These amounts include federal and state grants suc as Pell, SEOG, TAP as well as tuition waivers and graduate tuition scholarships. The amount scholarships or grants may reduce the amount of any allowable tuition and fees deduction or education credit you may claim for the year.

  Box 8 shows whether the student is considered to be carrying at least one-half the normal full-time workload for a course of study at the university. If the student is at least half-time for at least one academic period beginning during the tax year, then one of the requirements of the American Oppurtunity Tax Credit is met.

  Box 9 shows whether the student is considred to be enrolled exclusively in a program leading to a graduate-level certificate or degree. Students enrolled exclusively in a graduate program may only qualify for the lifetime learning credit.

  This information about enrollment is being furnished to the Interal Revenue Service. Please be aware, however, that the university is not responsible to determine a student's eligibility or to calculate any education credit that may be claimed.

  IRS Publication 970 explains qualifying tuition and fees, and payments. To receive the American Opportunity Tax Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit, you must account for and document the amount you have paid for tuition and expenses on IRS Form 8863 and file it with your yearly federal tax return. You do not file Form 1098 -T with your tax return.

  The Social Security (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification (ITIN) Number on my Form 1098T is missing or incorrect. What should I do?

  Reporting to the IRS requires that we include your taxpayer identification number (SSN or ITIN). It is very important that we have complete and correct information on file.

  For students who do not have an SSN or ITIN on file by January 6th, a 1098T may be generated for them with a randomly assigned reporting number in the SSN field. This number is assigned by the vendor that generates our IRS form 1098T and is used for form retrieval pruposes only. That number is NOT reported to the IRS.

  If a student receieves a 1098T with asn SSN they do not recognize, they should contact the Office of the Registrar to see if their SSN is on file. If not, they can visit their office with their original signed Social Security card to have this information added to their record. They can then email StudentBilling@stonybrook.edu to request the SSN on their 1098T be updated. However, we cannot update the SSN on their 1098T before this number has been added to their University record.

• I am an international student. Why did I receive a 1098-T and what do I do with it?

  Stony Brook University is required by the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to report payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses for the tax year ending on December 31 of the preceding calendar year. The Form 1098-T is the tax document used to report these payments. Students who file income taxes in the United States can use the Form 1098-T as an informational tax document used to determine eligibility for income tax credits.  

  In previous years Stony Brook University only issued the 1098-T to international students who requested it. Starting with reporting year 2021 SBU will issue the 1098-T for international students who have a valid Social Security Number or International Tax Identification Number (ITIN) on file.

  For more information, please refer to the Internal Revenue Service’s website at: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/determining-alien-tax-status or consult your personal tax adviser. 

  If you are a current student with a valid SS# or ITIN on file with the University, you will receive an email notification when your 1098-T is available.

• Where can I get info on the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit and the American Opportunity Tax Credit?

  LLTC: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/llc

  AOTC: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/aotc

• What are the "Out of Pocket Payments for Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses"?

  "Out of Pocket Payment for Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses" are payments made to a college for fees and tuition (including the costs of books, supplies and equipment needed for a course of study) and other academically related activities (not including gym, student, student goverment, health or student activities fees), minus any "untaxed educational benefit" (e.g, most grants, scholarships, fellowships, and fee waivers) or any refunds that you have received.

  It is important to note that the new law requires all nontaxable scholarships and grants to be deducted from the qualified tuition and expenses paid, before a tax payer may claim an American Oppurtunity Tax Credit or Lifetime Learning tax credit.

• What about payments made with student loans?

  Payments paid with proceeds form student loan are considered the same as cash payments and will count as "out of pocket" payments for qualified tuition and related expenses. If you paid for a portion of your qualified expenses using scholarships or grants, those are not considered "out of pocket" payments.

• If the information supplied by Stony Brook University indicated that I paid a certain amount in tuition and fees, does that mean I can claim that amount for a tax credit?

  Not necessarily. It is very important that taxpayers first obtain advice from a qualified tax advisor. There may be some cirumstances that could affect an individual's eligibility to claim an educational tax credit, such as:

  • the student may have received nontaxable grants or scholarships of which the university has no knowledge;
  • the taxpayer may be required to pay an alternative minimum tax; or
  • other special circumstances that could make the taxpayer ineligible (e.g., we will not know if the student/taxpayer earns too little or too much to be eligible, may not know of a relevant felony drug conviction, may not know if the student has already completed the first 4 years of postsecondary education, or if the student attended other eligible institutions).
• Where can I access my payment information?

  Your personal statement of payments is available through the SOLAR 1. Log into your SOLAR account
  2. Navigate to Campus Financial Services -> Account Information/Payment ->    1098T    Form
  3. Enter the year in which you want the form for. 
  Please be advised, you may need to disable your pop-up blocker on your computer in order to view the form.

• Do I have to do anything now?

  You must keep the university's Registrar's Office informed of your correct name, social security number and address for tax reporting purposes. If you move or change your name between now and next February, you must keep the school informed of your new name or address.

  For more information, please visit the IRS website

  https://www.irs.gov/