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American Opportunity Credit

Beginning in 1998, revised in 2010 and 2018, taxpayers may be eligible to claim an American Opportunity Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit against their federal income taxes.

In previous years, your 1098-T included a figure in Box 2 that represented the qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) the University billed to your student account for the calendar (tax) year. Due to a change to institutional reporting requirements under federal law, beginning with tax year 2018, we will report in Box 1 the amount of QTRE you paid during the year.

Depending on your income (or your family’s income, if you are a dependent), whether you were considered full or half-time enrolled, and the amount of your qualified educational expenses for the year, you may be eligible for a federal education tax credit. (You can find detailed information about claiming education tax credits in IRS Publication 970, page 9. Please reference the 2024 IRS Publication 970, as there were no updates made for 2025.)

The dollar amounts reported on your Form 1098-T may assist you in completing IRS Form 8863 – the form used for calculating the education tax credits that a taxpayer may claim as part of their tax return.

The University of South Alabama is unable to provide you with individual tax advice, but should you have questions, you should seek the counsel of an informed tax preparer or adviser.

To decide if you qualify for one of these credits, please see IRS Publication 970 and Form 8863 for instructions, and/or contact your personal tax advisor.

For additional information about IRS Publication 970, go to http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf.

IRS Forms and Publications are also available at your local IRS office or by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM.

Common questions:

Q. Why did I receive a 1098-T Form for courses taken for credit at the University of South Alabama?

A. The Office of Student Accounting issues the 1098-T by January 31st for students with qualified tuition and related expenses (QTRE) they paid that exceeded the scholarships/grants they received during the prior calendar (tax) year. If you are eligible to receive a 1098-T, you will receive a notification once it is available for review in PAWS. 

Q. Do I qualify for the tax credit?

A. The University of South Alabama cannot determine if you and/or your family are eligible for an education tax credit. You should refer to the IRS Publication 970 and/or your personal tax advisor.

Q. Do my parents qualify for the tax credit?

A. Only you or your family can decide if they qualify for an education tax credit. Please refer to IRS Publication 970 and/or contact your personal tax advisor.

Q. How can I review my 1098-T?

A. Eligible 1098-Ts can be viewed via your student account by following the steps below. If you did not opt to receive your 1098-T electronically, the form will also be mailed to you by January 31st of each year.

  1. Log in to PAWS using your Jag Number and JagNet Password.
  2. Click ‘Student Services & Financial Aid’.
  3. Click ‘Student Records’.
  4. Click ‘Student Account Access’. (You will be redirected to the USA's payment gateway provider - TouchNet.)
  5. In the ‘Statements’ section, click the 'View Statements' button to the right of the 'latest 1098-T Tax statement'.
  6. Click 'View' to the right of the year you want to access.
  7. Save the 1098-T PDF document to your device.