Form 1098-T is a record of the financial information reported by Bates to the IRS on a student’s behalf. The information on form 1098-T can be used to help you determine if you are eligible for education tax credits when filing a U.S. tax return.

Only payments received and posted to the student’s account in the relevant tax year (between January 1 and December 31) will appear on the 1098-T. Online payments are posted in real-time. Payments that are mailed or wired, including those sent by 529 plans, may take additional days to post. To assure these payments are applied in the current tax year, please allow for sufficient processing time. Bates is not able to alter or back-date payments.

The 1098-T will be available by January 31 of the calendar year that follows the applicable tax year. For example, 1098-T forms for 2024 will be available by January 31, 2025.

You can obtain an electronic copy of your 1098-T beginning in mid-January by following these instructions:

• Once you have been notified by email that your 1098-T is available, please launch a web browser and go to Maximus
• If you have used the site in previous years, enter your User ID and Password and click the Login button.
• If you are a new user, click the Register button. New users will then enter the last 5 digits of their social security number or their Bates ID number AND full first and last name, then click the Next button.
• If records are present for you, you will be instructed to create an account, if you have not already done so. Follow the instructions on the website to create a free account and retrieve your 1098-T.

Please note that if you do not choose to receive an electronic copy of your 1098-T, a paper copy will be mailed to your home address by the end of January. 

Box 1 includes the total amount of payments received by Bates for qualified tuition and related expenses in a calendar year. Box 5 includes the total amount of scholarships or grants disbursed in the calendar year.

Charges for food, housing, student health insurance, parking fines, library fines or other non-tuition fees are not included, nor are they categorized under related expenses.

You will not receive a 1098-T if your grants/scholarships exceed your qualified tuition and related expenses.

If you did not have any qualified tuition and related expenses billed in a calendar year, you will not receive a 1098-T for that calendar year.

International students are not issued 1098-Ts automatically, but may be eligible to request one.

You will need to check with the study abroad program about whether they provide a 1098-T for your program. 

Annually, Bates reaches out to students for whom we do not have a social security number on file and requests that they provide their social security number securely in the Garnet Gateway. If a social security number does not appear on the 1098-T, it means that Bates did not have a social security number on file.

Please note that Bates cannot provide tax advice. You should refer to the IRS webpage or consult a tax advisor if you have questions or require additional tax advice.