Tax Information

The TRA (Taxpayer's Relief Act of 1997) enacted several benefits for college students, including the Hope Scholarship and the Lifetime Learner's Credit. IPFW will mail IRS Form 1098-T to all students who took credit courses during 2008.

New for 2009

Hope Credit renamed to the American Opportunity Tax Credit.

The new credit modifies the existing Hope Credit for tax years 2009 and 2010. For more information please click on the following link:
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=205674,00.html.

For Questions and Answers, please click on the following link: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=211309,00.html.

You can access your 1098T Tax Notification through my.ipfw.
Once you log in, click on the Enrollment tab, choose Tax Notification from the Student Services Box and enter the appropriate tax year. 1098T paper notifcations will be mailed by the end of January every year.

IPFW cannot determine if any individual student is eligible for the credit; you will need to get advice from the IRS or a tax advisor. But we have tried to help by providing factual information about fees paid as well as financial aid received on your 1098-T.

Tax Forms

You can get forms and publications from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Web site. The following links will take you to the IRS download site. Note: All files are in PDF format unless otherwise indicated. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these files.

• Form 8863: Education Credits (Hope and Lifetime Learning)
• Publication 970: Tax Benefits for Education
• IRS Tax Information for Students

FAQ

• What are qualified and unqualified fees?
• Can I use myIPFW to look up my financial records for 2008?
• Why is spring semester 2009 reported on my 1098-T? I thought this was for 2008.
• I was on a deferred payment plan for spring. How do I deal with that?
• I took credit courses during 2008 but didn't receive a 1098-T. Why not?
• I took a Continuing Education course in 2008. Why didn't I get a 1098-T for it?
• I lost my 1098-T. What do I do now?
• Should I attach the 1098-T to my tax return when I mail it?
• What information did IPFW send to the IRS?

What are qualified and unqualified fees?

Qualified fees include all tuition and mandatory fees, professional liability insurance premiums, and the admission application fee. Unqualified fees include everything else, including medical insurance, installment plan fees, late fees, fines, etc.

Can I use myIPFW to look up my financial records for 2008?

Yes, you can use your normal account lookup function. We have also added a special TRA page that will show your summary TRA data, but only for classes taken at IPFW. It will not include any other Purdue campus information.

Why is spring semester 2009 reported on my
1098-T? I thought this was for 2008.

The tax law specifies that you can take the credit in the year you made the payment provided the term begins in the first 90 days of the new year. So if you paid your spring 2009 fees in December of 2008, you may take the credit in 2008. On the other hand, if you paid your spring 2008 fees in December of 2007, you may NOT claim the credit for that term in 2008.

I was on a deferred payment plan for spring. How do I deal with that?

You may claim only those payments you actually made during 2008. If part of your spring fees were deferred into 2009 because of your payment plan, then those payments can not be claimed until 2009.

I took credit courses during 2008 but didn't receive a 1098-T. Why not?

We sent 1098-T forms to credit students who took classes during 2008 and whose tuition and fees exceeded their total grants and scholarships. If your total financial aid exceeded your total qualified tuition and fees, no 1098-T was mailed. We also were unable to send forms to those without valid Social Security Numbers (student id's beginning with 999-) or students with no U.S. address.

I took a Continuing Education course in 2008. Why didn't I get a 1098-T for it?

IRS regulations do not require non-credit courses to be reported. You may still qualify for the Lifetime Learner's credit if your classes qualify. Go to our Tax Forms to retrieve the appropriate IRS instructions.

I lost my 1098-T. What do I do now?

Since you don't attach the 1098-T to your 1040, that's not a problem. You can use your bills and receipts as the backup to claim the credit or log on to myIPFW to see your IPFW financial data that was reported.

Should I attach the 1098-T to my tax return when I mail it?

No. The 1098-T is an informational report to you only. You should keep it in your tax file as backup, along with copies of your bills and receipts from each term. However, you must complete Form 8863 and attach it to your 1040 in order to claim a credit.

What information did IPFW send to the IRS?

For tax year 2008, financial data was sent to the IRS. This includes the amounts in the boxes 2-5 on form 1098-T.

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