By: Hannah Bonanducci
It’s that lovely time of year again when college students are initiated into adulthood through the generally hated process of taxes. Getting all of your documents together, especially as a college student, can be confusing. If Eastern owes you any tax documents, you should have received them by now either electronically or in the mail. Forms that you may be receiving from Eastern include a W-2, 1095-C, 1098T and 1099 MISC.
What exactly are these forms and what do I need to do with them? Great question. Even if you’re one of the many people filing your taxes with a financial advisor or tax assistance agency, it’s still important to know why you got these forms.
A W-2 form is for students who have worked on campus within the last tax year. This form “shows important information about the income you’ve earned from your employer, amount of taxes withheld from your paycheck, benefits provided and other information for the year,” (Intuit) and will be used to determine whether you owe taxes or will be receiving a tax refund. Eastern takes taxes out of each paycheck, so you shouldn’t owe taxes for any work you’ve done with Eastern.
A 1095-C form has to do with eligibility for health insurance. You would only be receiving this form if you work 30 or more hours per week. This form is to show whether or not the employer offered health insurance for you as a full-time worker and how long they did so (Inuit). To my knowledge, Eastern does not offer health insurance to students, so this form shouldn’t be followed up by any other forms like a 1095-B, which would specify the extent to which you received coverage.
A 1098T form is one that every student should receive, regardless of who is paying for their tuition. This form specifies how much you paid for your college tuition, which includes direct payments to the school, loans, and scholarships. This form is very important because it will specify whether you/the person you file dependent under will be eligible for a tax credit (Department of Education).
Lastly, you may receive a 1099 MISC form from the university. It is used “to report miscellaneous compensation such as rents, prizes, and awards, medical and healthcare payments, and payments to an attorney,” (Investopedia). If you receive this form, it is usually reporting forms of income that have not been taxed. Receiving this form does not necessarily mean that you owe taxes on the amount listed. There’s a long list on NerdWallet showing the specifics of when you receive this form. If you receive this form and are not sure why, reach out to the Financial Aid office to ask for clarification.
Remember, if you are receiving these forms, Eastern has already sent them to the IRS on their behalf to report their income and losses. You can’t get out of paying your taxes by not sending in these forms, so make sure to have these forms together and send them in when filing your taxes.
Sources: Department of Education, Intuit, Investopedia
Grace Nealy 
Jason Karch 
Lenora Kirkland