{"id":4195,"date":"2025-05-16T08:05:49","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T08:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tax1099.com\/blog\/?p=4195"},"modified":"2025-10-30T05:51:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T05:51:20","slug":"scaling-1098-t-filing-for-growing-student-populations-without-hiring-more-staff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tax1099.com\/blog\/scaling-1098-t-filing-for-growing-student-populations-without-hiring-more-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"Scaling 1098-T Filing for Growing Student Populations\u2014Without Hiring More Staff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Undergraduate enrollment in the U.S. is projected to grow by 9%, from <\/span>15.4 million in 2021 to 16.8 million by 2031.<\/span><\/a> This means millions more students will be attending colleges and universities across the U.S. in the coming years. <\/span>As more students enroll, universities will start facing more work managing administrative tasks. And one of the most important tasks the university administrative staff must handle is Form 1098-T<\/a> filing for each student.<\/span><\/p>\n

A critical IRS tax form, 1098-T, reports tuition payments and related financial transactions. This form is used as a way to determine eligibility for education tax credits like the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For universities and educational institutions, issuing these forms is not just a routine task; it’s a responsibility with high stakes for compliance and student satisfaction.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With <\/span><\/span>3,9<\/span><\/span>3<\/span><\/span>1<\/span><\/span> higher education institutions across the United States <\/span>working to <\/span><\/span>eFile<\/span> 1098-T<\/span><\/span> forms annually for <\/span>million<\/span>s of<\/span> students<\/span>, the scale of this operation is <\/span>huge<\/span>. And as student populations <\/span>keep <\/span>grow<\/span>ing<\/span>, so does the complexity of reporting. Yet many institutions are managing this process manually or relying on outdated in-house systems that <\/span>can\u2019t<\/span> keep pace with changing IRS requirements or increasing volume.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Manual Systems <\/span>Can\u2019t<\/span> Keep Up with the Growth<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Usually, most universities use legacy in-house systems for tax reporting. While these may have worked for smaller student bodies or under older IRS rules, today\u2019s reporting requirements demand far more.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The IRS has introduced several important updates and requirements over the years that impact how <\/span>1098-T 2026 <\/span><\/b>filings are done. These include:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n