1098-T Boxes Explained
Box 1: Payments received up to the total amount charged for Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses (QTRE) below. This includes the total amount of ALL payments received for QTRE from all sources during the calendar year including scholarships and grants (not including HEERF), which are also reported again in Box 5: This includes Tuition and Mandatory Student Fees
Box 2: is intentionally blank. Since 2018, federal regulations require that institutions report amounts paid (Box 1) versus amounts billed (Box 2).
Box 3: is no longer used.
Boxes 4, 5, 6: Adjustments and Scholarships
Box 4: shows any adjustments the school has made to qualified expenses reported on a previous year's 1098-T. If it turns out a previous year's expenses were lower than initially reported, the student may be responsible for additional tax for that year.
Box 5: shows the amount of scholarships and grants that were paid directly to the school for the student's expenses. Scholarships and grants may reduce the amount of qualified expenses the student can use when calculating a credit. Please note that grants from Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) are not included in Box 5 because they are not includable in your gross income according to the IRS. Learn more by visiting IRS webpage: Higher Education Emergency Grants Frequently Asked Questions.
Box 6: shows any adjustments the school has made to scholarships and grants reported on a previous year's 1098-T. These adjustments may affect the student's tax liability for the previous year, so the student may have to file an amended return.
Box 7: Schools must check Box 7 if the amount in Box 1 or 2 includes expenses for an academic term that begins in the first three months of the year following the year covered by the 1098-T.
Box 8: A check mark in Box 8 indicates that the student is enrolled at least half-time.
Box 9: A check mark in Box 9 indicates that the student is enrolled in a graduate program.
Box 10 comes into play only in cases in which students have had expenses reimbursed under a "tuition insurance" policy. Such policies reimburse students when they are forced to withdraw from school—for medical reasons or family emergencies, for example—after paying nonrefundable tuition.