As tax season quickly approaches, St. John’s University is
prepared to do our share in making the filing process easier. For
the past few years, students or parents were able to claim one or,
in some cases, two tax credits against their federal income taxes
for expenses they paid for postsecondary education for themselves
and their dependent children. The 2008 1098-T form is to aid you in
the purpose of filing for the Hope Scholarship Credit or the
Lifetime Learning Credit. This form is
scheduled to be mailed to students beginning Monday, January
26, 2009.
- The University cannot determine whether you are eligible to
claim this tax credit. Please consult your tax advisor or IRS Form
8863 to determine the amount of tax credit that you may be eligible
to claim.
- Please ensure your mailing address is your permanent address
and that it is correct. Please log onto UIS and click on "Personal
Information" to view and edit your address online.
- Due to IRS filing regulations, the University must provide on
all 1098-T forms issued for students, a valid Social Security or
Taxpayer Identification number for that student. If you do not have
one on file, the University is required to request one from you by
sending you a
W-9S Form to be completed and returned to the University. You
may return the form to any Office of the Bursar location, or you
may download the
W-9S Form, complete Part I only and return by mail for
processing to:
St. John’s
University-Manhattan Campus
Office of Enrollment Services
101 Murray Street
New York, NY 10007
Attn: 2008 1098T Information
You may also fax the completed form to the University at (212)
277-5107 or (718) 990-5935. Student’s can edit and review for
errors their Social Security number on their UIS account, by
clicking Personal Information then click on Biographical Data. You
may make changes to your Social Security number on this form (
W-9S Form).
Educational Tax Benefits
To promote access to and the affordability of college education,
the IRS created a new Web
site highlighting various tax credits, deductions and savings
plans designed to help parents and students pay for college. Please
review this beneficial tax information.
Hope Scholarship Credit
The Hope Scholarship Credit is available on a per student
basis for the first two years of postsecondary education
only. However, the credit may be reduced based on your
modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). Please
refer to IRS Publication 970 for MAGI totals and
restrictions. To be eligible, students must have been
enrolled at least half-time during at least one semester, which
began in 2008. Students must also be enrolled in a program
that leads to a degree, certificate or other recognized educational
credential.
Lifetime Learning Credit
The Lifetime Learning Credit is available to students for all years
of postsecondary education and for courses to acquire or improve
job skills. This credit applies to tuition and fees for
undergraduate and graduate courses. However, the credit
may be reduced based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI).
Please refer to IRS Publication 970 for MAGI
totals and restrictions.
Additional Information
- Taxpayers cannot use both credits for the same student in a
single year. For each tax credit, eligible educational
expenses accrued during the 2008 calendar year are offset by
scholarships, grants and other tax-free benefits.
- All students should save their tuition and financial aid
records for tax purposes. These include cancelled checks,
class schedules and student account summaries available when you
log into St. John's
University Information System. If you need a copy your Student
Account Summary, please go to your UIS account.
- The University will be supplying on the 1098-T form box 2,
which refers to amounts billed for qualified tuition and related
expenses. This will be for qualified tuition and related charges
accrued during the 2008 calendar year
(January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008).
- If you did not receive your 1098-T form in the mail, you may
view a copy of the form on your St. John's Information
System account.
- Click on “Student Services & Financial Aid”
- Click “Student Account”
- Choose “Tax Notification” for 2008 to view the information that
was mailed.
- The actual 1098-T form is not required to
claim this tax credit. It is to aid you or your accountant in
determining whether you are eligible to claim this
credit.
- You may view and print a copy of your
1098T form from previous tax years. Please be advised that prior to
tax year 2003, colleges and universities were not required to
report totals on the 1098T form. Only a student's name, social
security number, address and student enrollment information was
reported for tax years prior to 2003.
- Eligible taxpayers may claim these education tax credits on IRS
Form 8863 when they file their 2008 tax return. All
information and instructions concerning these and other tax
benefits are found in IRS Publication 970 for 2007. These
forms and publications are available on the Web site http://www.irs.gov/.
If you have questions concerning information provided on the
1098-T form, please contact Dorothy Mantel at (718) 990-2406, or
e-mail your questions to studentfinancialserv@stjohns.edu.