FAQs

Educational institutions use the IRS Form 1098-T to report enrollment and financial information about their students to the IRS.

Purpose

The purpose of IRS Form 1098-T is to assist you in determining if you are eligible for one or more educational tax credits. 

Reportable Transactions

University of Illinois reports the payments received for qualified tuition and related expenses from all sources during the calendar year in Box 1 of Form 1098-T, and the total amount of scholarships and grants in Box 5.

Scholarships and Grants

The reporting of scholarships and grants, including waivers, on Form 1098-T does not determine the taxability of those payments; it is the student’s responsibility, not the University’s, to determine the taxability of scholarships, fellowships and/or grants received.  

Please Note: For complete information about education tax credits, see the following documents:

• IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education
• Form 8863, Education Credits
• Form 1040 or 1040A Instructions

For instructions on completing the form, see the current version of IRS Form 1098-T. The IRS provides an interactive online service that can help you determine if you are eligible for a tax credit or consult your tax professional.

Northwestern is required to provide a completed IRS Form 1098-T to all students for whom a reportable transaction is made and to report the qualified financial data to the IRS. Qualified financial data includes tuition and mandatory fees required for a student to be enrolled at or attend an eligible educational institution. See Publication 970 for further details.

Exceptions:

• Courses for which no academic credit is offered, even if the student is otherwise enrolled in a degree program
• Nonresident alien students
• Students whose qualified tuition and related expenses are entirely waived or paid entirely with scholarships

Northwestern University has partnered with Heartland ECSI to distribute our 1098-T Tax Statements electronically. Online access to the 1098-T Tax Statement eliminates the risk of the statement getting lost, misdirected, or even delayed during delivery. Prior to Fall 2025, Students who wish to receive their Tax Statement electronically will need to provide Heartland ECSI with Consent to distribute the tax form via ECSI eConsent.

During the current tax year, you had a reportable transaction for 1098-T Tax Statements. Northwestern must have a valid Social Security Number (SSN) and valid address to report your transactions to the IRS.

If you did not receive a 1098-T, the most common reasons are:

• Northwestern University did not have a current address for you. To change your address information go to CAESAR and confirm your address. 
• You were enrolled in Courses for which no academic credit is offered
• Your qualified tuition and related expenses are entirely waived or paid entirely by scholarships
• The amount of qualified tuition and related expenses paid during the calendar year was zero.

The IRS requires Northwestern University to provide a valid address on the tax document. Thus, for the University to properly comply with the tax rules and regulations, please review and update your address.

Prior to Winter Break of the current academic year:

 Please update the address indicated below in CEASAR

• Undergraduate students:
  • CAESAR Homepage> Profile > Addresses>permanent address.
• Graduate students:
  • CAESAR Homepage> Profile > Addresses>current address.
• International F-1/J-1 Students:
  • International graduate students, please update your current U.S. address in CAESAR.
  • DO NOT update your PERMANENT ADDRESS (home country address) in CAESAR, as this would cause system errors in the OISS Portal.

After Winter Break of the current academic year:

• Go to the official ECSI website and click Sign In.
• Enter your Account Number and PIN/Password to access your account.
• Go to “Update My Information”

Please Note: No updates will be made to address after the IRS filing deadline, which is typically March 31st.

The IRS requires Northwestern University to include a valid SSN or ITIN on this tax form. To ensure your information is accurate and that your 1098-T is issued correctly, please review and update your SSN or ITIN.

How to Update Your SSN or ITIN

Prior to Winter Break of the current academic year:

1. Verify your primary name is accurate.
   • Log in to CAESAR with your NetID and password.
   • Go to the Profile tile.
   • Verify your primary name matches your government-issued ID.
   • If it does not, follow the name change steps in CAESAR before updating your SSN.
2. Update your SSN or ITIN
   • Complete the Update Bio/Demo Update form

After Winter Break of the current academic year:

1. Follow the steps outlined above.
2. Then, submit a W-9S form to ECSI.  
   • Log in to Your ECSI Account using your SSN/EIN and password, or complete account verification if it’s your first time.
   • Navigate to Tax Forms / 1098-T / W-9 Information.
   • Choose Submit W-9 or Update Taxpayer Information.

Please Note: No updates will be made to address after the IRS filing deadline, which is typically March 31st.