Student Loan Interest Statement

2020

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Instructions for Forms
1098-E and 1098-T
Student Loan Interest Statement and Tuition Statement
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless
otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to
Forms 1098-E and 1098-T and their instructions, such as
legislation enacted after they were published, go to IRS.gov/
Form1098E or IRS.gov/Form1098T.

Reminders
General instructions. In addition to these specific
instructions, you should also use the 2020 General
Instructions for Certain Information Returns. Those general
instructions include information about the following topics.
• Who must file.
• When and where to file.
• Electronic reporting.
• Corrected and void returns.
• Statements to recipients.
• Taxpayer identification numbers (TINs).
• Backup withholding.
• Penalties.
• Other general topics.
You can get the General Instructions for Certain
Information Returns at IRS.gov/1099GeneralInstructions or
go to IRS.gov/Form1098E or IRS.gov/Form1098T.
Online fillable Copies B and C. To ease statement
furnishing requirements, Copies B and C of Forms 1098-E
and 1098-T are fillable online in a PDF format, available at
IRS.gov/Form1098E or IRS.gov/Form1098T. You can
complete these copies online for furnishing statements to
recipients and for retaining in your own files.
Form W-9S. You may use Form W-9S, Request for
Student’s or Borrower’s Taxpayer Identification Number and
Certification, to obtain the student’s or borrower’s name,
address, taxpayer identification number, and student loan
certification to be used when filing Form 1098-E or 1098-T.
Use of Form W-9S is optional; you may collect the
information using your own forms, such as admission or
enrollment forms, or financial aid applications. You may
collect the student’s or borrower’s information on paper or
electronically.
Electronic submission of Form W-9S. An educational
institution, insurer, or lender may establish a system for
students and borrowers to submit Form W-9S electronically,
including by fax. Generally, the electronic system must:
1. Ensure the information received is the information sent
and document all occasions of user access that result in the
submission,
2. Make reasonably certain the person accessing the
system and submitting the form is the person identified on
Form W-9S,
3. Provide you with the same information as the paper
Sep 18, 2019

Form W-9S, and
4. Be able to supply a hard copy of the electronic
Form W-9S if the Internal Revenue Service requests it.
Also, if an electronic Form W-9S is used to obtain the
borrower’s certification that all the loan proceeds are used
solely to pay qualified higher education expenses, your
electronic system must require, as the final entry in the
submission, an electronic signature by the borrower whose
name is on Form W-9S. The signature authenticates and
verifies the submission. See Announcement 98-27, which is
on page 30 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 1998-15 at
IRS.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb98-15.pdf.

Specific Instructions for Form 1098-E
File Form 1098-E, Student Loan Interest Statement, if you
receive student loan interest of $600 or more from an
individual during the year in the course of your trade or
business.

The $600 threshold applies to each borrower regardless
of the number of student loans obtained by that borrower.
However, you may file a separate Form 1098-E for each
student loan of the borrower, or you may file one Form
1098-E for the interest from all student loans of the borrower.
Who must file. File Form 1098-E if you are a financial
institution, governmental unit (or any of its subsidiary
agencies), educational institution, or any other person who
receives student loan interest of $600 or more from an
individual during the year in the course of your trade or
business.
If more than one person has a connection with the loan,
only the first person to receive the interest payment must file
Form 1098-E. For example, a loan service or collection agent
receiving payments on behalf of the lender must file.
Qualified student loan. To be reportable for 2020, a
student loan must be either:
• Subsidized, guaranteed, financed, or otherwise treated as
a student loan under a program of the federal, state, or local
government, or of a postsecondary educational institution; or
• Certified by the borrower as a student loan incurred solely
to pay qualified higher education expenses. You may use
Form W-9S to obtain the certification.
Revolving accounts. Report interest paid on revolving
accounts, such as credit card accounts, only if the borrower
certifies that all the loan proceeds are solely used to pay
qualified higher education expenses. You do not have to
verify the borrower’s actual use of the funds. Do not report
interest on mixed use loans.
Loans under qualified plans. Do not report interest on
loans made under a qualified employer plan, as defined in
section 72(p)(4), or under a contract purchased under a

Cat. No. 27990J

qualified employer plan within the meaning of section 72(p)
(5).

Specific Instructions for Form 1098-T

File Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement, if you are an eligible
educational institution. You must file for each student you
enroll and for whom a reportable transaction is made. Also, if
you are an insurer, file Form 1098-T for each individual to
whom you made reimbursements or refunds of qualified
tuition and related expenses.

Additional information. For more information about
reporting student loan interest, see Regulations section
1.6050S-3.
Statements to borrowers. If you are required to file Form
1098-E, you must provide a statement or acceptable
substitute, on paper or electronically, to the borrower. For
more information about the requirements to furnish a
statement to the borrower, see part M in the 2020 General
Instructions for Certain Information Returns.
Electronic delivery of Form 1098-E. Educational
institutions, insurers, and lenders may present the option to
consent to receive Form 1098-E electronically as part of a
global “Consent To Do Business Electronically,” combining
consent for electronic delivery of Form 1098-E along with
other institutional student business functions such as
admissions, registration, billings, and direct deposits.
The global consent process must meet all the consent,
disclosure, format, notice, and access period requirements
for electronic furnishing of Forms 1098-E in accordance with
the applicable regulations. For more information about the
requirements to furnish a statement to each student, see part
M in the 2020 General Instructions for Certain Information
Returns.

Exceptions. You do not have to file Form 1098-T or furnish
a statement for:
• Courses for which no academic credit is offered, even if
the student is otherwise enrolled in a degree program;
• Nonresident alien students, unless requested by the
student;
• Students whose qualified tuition and related expenses are
entirely waived or paid entirely with scholarships; and
• Students for whom you do not maintain a separate
financial account and whose qualified tuition and related
expenses are covered by a formal billing arrangement
between an institution and the student’s employer or a
governmental entity, such as the Department of Veterans
Affairs or the Department of Defense.
Who must file. You must file Form 1098-T if you are an
eligible educational institution. An eligible educational
institution that is a governmental unit, or an agency or
instrumentality of a governmental unit, is subject to the
reporting requirements of Form 1098-T. A designated officer
or employee of the governmental entity must satisfy the
reporting requirements of Form 1098-T.
If another person receives or collects payments of
qualified tuition and related expenses on your behalf, the
other person must file Form 1098-T. However, if the other
person does not possess the information necessary to
comply with the reporting requirements of Form 1098-T, then
you must satisfy the reporting requirements of Form 1098-T.
Also, if you are an insurer engaged in a trade or business
of making refunds or reimbursements of qualified tuition and
related expenses, you are required to file Form 1098-T. See
the instructions for box 10, later.

Truncating borrower’s TIN on payee statements.
Pursuant to Regulations section 301.6109-4, all filers of Form
1098-E may truncate a borrower’s TIN (social security
number (SSN), individual taxpayer identification number
(ITIN), adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN), or
employer identification number (EIN)) on payee statements.
Truncation is not allowed on any documents the filer files with
the IRS. A recipient’s/lender’s TIN may not be truncated on
any form. See part J in the 2020 General Instructions for
Certain Information Returns.
Recipient’s/lender’s name, address, and telephone
number box. Enter the name, address, and telephone
number of the filer of Form 1098-E. Use this same name and
address on Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of
U.S. Information Returns.

Eligible educational institution. An eligible educational
institution is a college, university, vocational school, or other
postsecondary educational institution that is described in
section 481 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as in effect
on August 5, 1997, and that is eligible to participate in the
Department of Education’s student aid programs. This
includes most accredited public, nonprofit, and private
postsecondary institutions.

Account number. The account number is required if you
have multiple accounts for a recipient for whom you are filing
more than one Form 1098-E. Additionally, the IRS
encourages you to designate an account number for all
Forms 1098-E that you file. See part L in the 2020 General
Instructions for Certain Information Returns.

Box 1. Student Loan Interest Received by
Lender

Qualified tuition and related expenses. Qualified tuition
and related expenses are tuition, fees, and course materials
required for a student to be enrolled at or attend an eligible
educational institution.
The following are not qualified tuition and related
expenses.
• Amounts paid for any course or other education involving
sports, games, or hobbies, unless the course or other
education is part of the student’s degree program or is taken
to acquire or improve job skills.
• Charges and fees for room, board, insurance, medical
expenses (including student health fees), transportation, and
similar personal, living, or family expenses.

Enter the interest you received on a student loan(s) during
the calendar year. For loans made on or after September 1,
2004, you are required to include in box 1 payments of
interest as described in Regulations section 1.221-1(f).
Under that regulation, interest includes capitalized interest
and loan origination fees that represent charges for the use
or forbearance of money. See Regulations section 1.221-1(f).

Box 2. Checkbox

Check this box if loan origination fees and/or capitalized
interest are not reported in box 1 for loans made before
September 1, 2004.

Academic credit. Academic credit is credit awarded by an
eligible educational institution for the completion of course
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Instructions for Forms 1098-E and 1098-T (2020)

or other form. If you solicited the student’s TIN in writing
(Form W-9S or other form) for the current year, check the
box. Also check the box if you obtained the student’s TIN in a
prior year by making a solicitation in writing (Form W-9S or
other form) or you obtained the student’s TIN in a prior year
from his or her financial aid application or other form and in
either case have no reason to believe the TIN previously
obtained is incorrect. Check the box if the institution is filing
the Form 1098-T with nothing in the field for the student’s TIN
because the institution has no record of a TIN, but only if you
made a written solicitation for the TIN on or before December
31 of the year for which you are filing the Form 1098-T. By
checking the box and filing Form 1098-T with the IRS (for
electronic filers), you certify under penalties of perjury that
you have in good faith complied with the standards in
Treasury Regulations section 1.6050S-1 governing the time
and manner of soliciting the TIN of the student. Filers who
transmit paper forms to the IRS will make such certification
by signing Form 1096 in conjunction with filing the returns
with the boxes checked in the fields designated for the
student’s identification number.

work leading to a postsecondary degree, certificate, or other
recognized postsecondary educational credential.
Example. Student A, a medical doctor, takes a course at
University X’s medical school. Student A takes the course to
fulfill State Y’s licensing requirement that medical doctors
attend continuing medical education courses each year.
Student A is not enrolled in a degree program at University X
and takes the medical course through University X’s
continuing professional education program. University X
does not award Student A credit toward a postsecondary
degree on an academic transcript for the completion of the
course but gives Student A a certificate of attendance upon
completion. University X is not required to file Form 1098-T
for the course taken by Student A.
Academic period. You must file Form 1098-T for each
student who is enrolled in your institution for any academic
period (for example, semester, trimester, or quarter) in 2020,
but see Exceptions, earlier. Determine your enrollment for
each period under your own rules or use one of the following
dates.
• 30 days after the first day of the academic period.
• A date during the period when enrollment data must be
collected for purposes of the Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System administered by the Department of
Education.
• A date during the period when you must report enrollment
data to the state, to your governing board, or to some other
external governing body.

Student’s address. In the student’s address box of Form
1098-T, enter the student’s permanent address. That is,
enter the student’s home or other long-term address where
he or she can receive forwarded mail. You may use a
temporary address only if you do not know the permanent
address.
Information contact and service provider. You must
provide your name, address, and telephone number. In
addition, you may include information on a third-party service
provider who filed the form or who may answer questions
about the statement. Enter the service provider’s information
in the box below the student’s name and address.

Additional information. For more information about
reporting on Form 1098-T, see Regulations section
1.6050S-1. Also see Notice 2006-72, 2006-36 I.R.B. 363,
available at IRS.gov/irb/2006-36_IRB#NOT-2006-72, for
guidance in a question-and–answer format on the information
reporting requirements for Form 1098-T.

You must provide the telephone number for the
information contact at the institution. Generally, this
CAUTION is an administrative office or department. Do not
provide the institution’s general telephone number.

Statements to students. If you are required to file Form
1098-T, you must furnish a statement or acceptable
substitute, on paper or electronically, to the student.
Electronic delivery of Form 1098-T. Educational
institutions may present the option to consent to receive
Form 1098-T electronically as part of a global “Consent To
Do Business Electronically,” combining consent for electronic
delivery of Form 1098-T along with other institutional student
business functions such as admissions, registration, billings,
and direct deposits.
The global consent process must meet all the consent,
disclosure, format, notice, and access period requirements
for electronic furnishing of Forms 1098-T as required by
paragraphs (a)(2) through (6) of Treasury Regulations
section 1.6050S-2. For more information about the
requirements to furnish a statement to each student, see part
M in the 2020 General Instructions for Certain Information
Returns.

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Account number. The account number is required if you
have multiple accounts for a recipient for whom you are filing
more than one Form 1098-T. Additionally, the IRS
encourages you to designate an account number for all
Forms 1098-T that you file. See part L in the 2020 General
Instructions for Certain Information Returns.

Box 1. Payments Received for Qualified Tuition
and Related Expenses

Enter the total amount of payments received for qualified
tuition and related expenses from all sources during the
calendar year. The amount reported is the total amount of
payments received less any reimbursements or refunds
made during the calendar year that relate to the payments
received for qualified tuition and related expenses during the
same calendar year. The amount reported is not reduced by
scholarships and grants reported in box 5. Include in this box
the receipt of a payment of past-due qualified tuition or
related expenses from a previous calendar year, but only if
the educational institution previously billed the student for
such amount(s).

Truncating student’s TIN on payee statements. Pursuant
to Regulations section 301.6109-4, all filers of Form 1098-T
may truncate a student’s TIN (social security number (SSN),
individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN), adoption
taxpayer identification number (ATIN), or employer
identification number (EIN)) on payee statements. Truncation
is not allowed on any documents the filer files with the IRS. A
filer’s TIN may not be truncated on any form. See part J in the
2020 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns.

Box 2. Reserved

This box is reserved for future use.

Student’s TIN and checkbox. Enter the student’s TIN, as
provided to you on Form W-9S, Request for Student’s or
Borrower’s Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification,
Instructions for Forms 1098-E and 1098-T (2020)

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Box 3. Reserved

Box 6. Adjustments to Scholarships or Grants
for a Prior Year

This box is reserved for future use.

Enter the amount of any reduction to the amount of
scholarships or grants that were reported for any prior year
after 2002.

Box 4. Adjustments Made for a Prior Year
Payments received. Enter reimbursements or refunds of
qualified tuition and related expenses made in 2020 that
relate to payments received that were reported for any prior
year after 2002.

Box 7. Checkbox for Amounts for an Academic
Period Beginning in January Through March of
2021

Amounts billed. Enter any reductions in charges made for
qualified tuition and related expenses made during the
calendar year that relate to amounts billed that were reported
for any prior year after 2002.
These requirements also apply to an adjustment made in
connection with a nonresident alien for which the educational
institution filed and furnished a Form 1098-T for the prior
year.

Check this box if any payments received for qualified tuition
and related expenses reported for 2020 relate to an
academic period that begins in January through March of
2021.

Box 8. Check if at Least Half-Time Student

Check this box if the student was at least a half-time student
during any academic period that began in 2020. A half-time
student is a student enrolled for at least half the full-time
academic workload for the course of study the student is
pursuing. Your institution’s standard for a half-time student
work load must equal or exceed the standards established by
the Department of Education under the Higher Education Act
and set forth in 34 C.F.R. section 668.2(b).

Box 5. Scholarships or Grants

Enter the total amount of any scholarships or grants that you
administered and processed during the calendar year for the
payment of the student’s costs of attendance. Scholarships
and grants generally include all payments received from third
parties (excluding family members and loan proceeds). This
includes payments received from governmental and private
entities such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, the
Department of Defense, civic and religious organizations,
and nonprofit entities. However, see Exceptions, earlier.

Box 9. Check if a Graduate Student

Check this box if the student was a graduate student. The
student is a graduate student if the student was enrolled in a
program or programs leading to a graduate-level degree,
graduate-level certificate, or other recognized graduate-level
educational credential.

A scholarship or grant is administered and processed by
you if you receive payment of an amount, whether by check,
cash, electronic transfer, or other means, and such payment
is designated as a grant or a scholarship by the payor, or the
circumstances make it clear that the payment is a grant or
scholarship. A Pell Grant is an example of a grant
administered and processed by a college or university in all
cases.

Box 10. Insurance Contract Reimbursements or
Refunds

If you are an insurer, enter the total amount of
reimbursements or refunds of qualified tuition and related
expenses that you made to the student during 2020.

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Instructions for Forms 1098-E and 1098-T (2020)