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150 YEARS OF MASSART

Celebrating 150 years as the nation's first and only public independent college of art and design

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Billing FAQ

GENERAL INQUIRIES

You may request a copy of your current and/or past bill(s) to be mailed to your current address (as listed in our system) by contacting the Business Office at bursar@massart.edu or by 617.879.7900. Please send the email from your MassArt email account.

BFA Candidates, Graduate & Certificate programs only: Fall semester bills are available in July, and are due on the first week of August. Spring semester bills are available Mid-November, and are due Mid-December.

To view bills, students may log in to their student self service account. Students may contact the Business Office at 617.879.7900 with specific inquiries about their charges. 

For instructions how to make a payment, please see Student Billing.

MassArt offers electronic payment options as a convenience through self service. However, if you choose to make a payment using a credit card, you will be charged a non-refundable credit card fee on the total amount paid via Visa/MasterCard. There is NO fee for electronic check payments.

Your payment will reflect on self-service immediately. To view bills, students may log in to their student self-service account.

If a payment is returned by the bank, a $30 returned check fee will be added to the student account. Multiple returned payments may result in MassArt requiring future payments by money order or bank check.

Please visit Health Services for more information.

Some students receive scholarships or grants from organizations outside of MassArt (examples: Rotary Club, Boston Globe, City scholarships, etc.). A copy of the scholarship letter should be returned to our Office of Student Financial Assistance. They will enter the scholarship into our computer system and it will become part of your Pending Aid. If you receive the scholarship after bills are mailed please follow the following steps:

  • If the scholarship award letter states that the outside scholarship will be paid directly to MassArt, the student need not pay that portion of the bill that the scholarship will cover
  • A copy of the scholarship award letter must be submitted with the bill as well as payment for any remaining balance

ABOUT THE 1098-T

The 1098-T form is an annual informational document that all educational institutions are required to prepare for eligible students. It contains information on qualified tuition and related expenses within the calendar year, January-December. Students are not required to use the 1098-T form but can use the information provided when completing their tax returns. While Northeastern cannot advise on how you should use the form, your tax professional can.

Bring the form to your tax advisor and have the advisor help you determine if you may claim the Hope or the Lifetime Learning education tax credits. An eligible educational institution, such as a college or university, must furnish this information to you. You, or the person who can claim you as a dependent, may be able to claim an education credit on form 1040 or 1040A for the qualified tuition and related expenses that were actually paid during the calendar year. Institutions may report either payments received in box 1, or amounts billed in box 2. {Note: Massachusetts College of Art and Design reports in box 2} The amount in box 1 or 2 may represent an amount other than the amount actually paid during the calendar year.

Please note: it is up to the taxpayer to determine eligibility for the credits and how to calculate them.

The College is required to have the 1098-T forms available to all students, excluding international students, by January 31st. The College is also required to electronically report this information to the IRS by February 28th. Section 6050S of the Internal Revenue Code, as enacted by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, requires institutions to file information returns to assist taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service in determining eligibility for the Hope and Lifetime Learning education tax credits.

  1. Students may access their 1098-T form online through their Self Service account. Please follow the following steps:
    • Log on to mca-ss.colleague.elluciancloud.com/Student
    • Click on the box labeled "Tax Information"
    • Select the tax year of interest from the drop-down menu box
    • After retrieving your 1098-T online, you may print as many duplicate copies as desired
    • Note that you are not required to submit any copy of the 1098-T with your tax return
  2. Student may request a copy be mailed through his/her MassArt email account.
  3. Student may make a signed request in writing to the business office of MassArt.
  4. Student may make the request in person with proper ID.
    • Please note: Massachusetts College of Art and Design cannot release a 1098-T form to a non-MassArt email or phone call or fax as that would violate federal and college regulations that protect our student's privacy.

There are several possibilities:

  • You are looking for your 1098-T at the wrong address - IRS regulations require mailing your 1098-T to your permanent address, not your local or campus one. Check at home to see if your family received the form
     
  • Your 1098-T was mailed to the wrong address - If you did not have a current address on file with MassArt, then your form may have gone astray. To find out where your tax information was sent, log in to Self Service or email the Bursar's Office from your MassArt account . You may obtain copies of your 1098-T through the website at your convenience. Remember to update your addresses with the Registrar's or Graduate and Continuing Education Office.
     
  • You're an International student (unless requested with SSN and/or TIN on file)
     
  • You're a student who did not have qualified tuition and related expenses
     
  • You're a student whose qualified tuition and related expenses are entirely waived or paid entirely with scholarships 

Instructions for Student: Your institution must include its name, address and contact person. Although the contact person may be able to answer certain questions about the statement, do not contact them for explanations of the requirements for (and how to calculate) any education credit that you may claim. For additional information, please refer to the IRS 1098-T instructions

  • Account number: May show an account or other unique number the filer assigned to distinguish your account
     
  • Box 1: Shows the total payments received for qualified tuition (mandatory tuition and fees, lab fees, late fees) less any related  reimbursements or refunds. {Note: MassArt reports in Box 2; Box 1 not in use}
     
  • Box 2: Shows the total amounts billed for qualified tuition (mandatory tuition and fees, lab fees, late fees)
     
  • Box 3: Shows whether your institution changed its method of reporting for the year. {MassArt did not change its method of reporting this year}
     
  • Box 4: of the form shows any adjustments the school has made to qualified expenses reported on a previous year's 1098-T. If it turns out a previous year's expenses were lower than initially reported, the student may be responsible for additional tax for that year
     
  • Box 5: shows the amount of scholarships and grants that were paid directly to the school for the student's expenses. Scholarships and grants may reduce the amount of qualified expenses the student can use when calculating a credit
     
  • Box 6: shows any adjustments the school has made to scholarships and grants reported on a previous year's 1098-T. These adjustments may affect the student's tax liability for the previous year, so the student may have to file an amended return
     
  • Box 7: shows if the amount in Box 1 or 2 includes expenses for an academic term that begins in the first three months of the year following the year covered by the 1098-T
     
  • Box 8: shows whether you are considered to be carrying at least one-half the normal full-time workload for your course of study at the reporting institution. If you are at least a half-time student for at least one academic period that begins during the year, you meet one of the requirements for the Hope credit. You do not have to meet the workload requirement to qualify for the lifetime learning credit
     
  • Box 9: shows whether you are considered to be enrolled in a program leading to a graduate degree, graduate-level certificate, or other recognized graduate-level educational credential. If you are enrolled in a graduate program, you are not eligible for the Hope credit, but may qualify for the lifetime learning credit
     
  • Box 10: shows the total amount of reimbursements or refunds of qualified tuition and related expenses made by an insurer. The amount of reimbursements or refunds for the calendar year may reduce the amount of any education credit you can claim for the year

If you have additional questions/concern, please contact the Business Office directly.
Please note: MassArt is prohibited from providing legal, tax or accounting advice to students. We encourage students to contact their tax advisors or the IRS with questions.

The amount in Box 1 only represents the amount paid for qualified tuition and fees. It does not include payments made for rooms, meal plans, health fees, health insurance, fines and other fees not related to course enrollment.
The amount in Box 1 reports amounts that the student paid in a particular calendar year, therefore the pay date does not necessarily correspond to the dates that the classes were attended.

Box 1 on the 1098T tax form includes payments made during the calendar year (January 1st- December 31st) for qualified tuition and fees. It is not based on when classes were taken or fees billed to the student account.

Some graduates will not be issued a 1098T tax form; students who paid their final Spring semester bill before December 31, will not have a 1098T for the year they attended and graduated because they were charged in the year prior.

Reported in Box 1 is the amount you paid during the year that applied to Qualified Tuition and Related Fees assessed in the calendar year.

We account for all payments received in the calendar year that were applied to Qualified Tuition and Related Fees billed by the School (January 1st through December 31st only). It does not include payments made for room, meal plan, health fees, health insurance, fines and other fees not related to course enrollment as per the IRS.

Spring term is generally billed in November, and due to be paid in December, and therefore, the charges billed would have been part of the calculations for the year prior 1098T form.

Payments applied to your account during January 1 through December 31 that total the Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses assessed in the calendar tax year. They include all payments from all sources, such as:

Individual cash, check and credit card payments
Payments from 529 and other investment accounts
Payments from 3rd parties sponsors such as UTC, VA, DCF, etc.
Student loans
Grants and scholarships

Any refunds you received or any payments made that were returned by the maker's bank are reflected as a reduction of these total payments.

Housing Deposits
Scholarships/grants earmarked for charges other than Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses such as housing, meals or books
Tuition and fee waivers, which are reported to the IRS as a reduction to Qualified Tuition and Related Expenses

Mandatory tuition and fee charges that were charged during the calendar tax year (January 1 through December 31) Charges for housing, meals, transportation and insurance are NOT included.
Any tuition and fee waivers you received are reported as reductions of these total charges.

Payments recorded in Box 1 cannot exceed the total qualified charges reported in the calendar year. Additionally, payments made for earlier terms are not reported, as the charges associated with these payments were reported in the prior tax years.

No, the amount reported in Box 1 does not include payments for books. You should consult with your tax advisor to determine under what conditions (if any) payments for books, equipment or fees should be considered when determining eligibility for educational tax credits. They will not be reported on the 1098T.

ABOUT THE W-9S

Form W-9S, Request for Student's Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, is used by eligible educational institutions to request the taxpayer identification number of students for whom the institution must report 1098-T Tuition Statement information to the Internal Revenue Service. We cannot report your Tuition information to the IRS without your SSN/ITIN.

All students who were enrolled in credit based courses during the tax year and who have a missing or invalid Social Security Number will receive a W-9S, Request for Student's Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification.

When MassArt receives a W-9S form with a number that appears to be valid, whether it is a Social Security Number (SSN) or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), this number will be entered into the SSN field of the student's record. Having your SSN/ITIN on file allows us to report your potential tax credit information to the IRS and your in school status to the Federal loan clearing house.

An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is a tax processing number issued by the Internal Revenue Service. It is a nine-digit number that always begins with the number 9 and has a 7 or 8 in the fourth digit, example 9xx-7x-xxxx or 9xx-8x-xxxx. The IRS issues ITIN's to individuals who are required to have a U.S. taxpayer identification number but who do not have, and are not eligible to obtain a Social Security Number (SSN) from the Social Security Administration (SSA).

ITINs are issued regardless of immigration status because both resident and nonresident aliens may have U.S. tax return and payment responsibilities under the Internal Revenue Code. Individuals must have a filing requirement and file a valid federal income tax return to receive an ITIN, unless they meet an exception.

If you receive a W-9S form with an ITIN, this number should be entered into the SSN field of the student's record.

If an international student does not have a Taxpayer Identification Number and if they are applying for a SSN or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, they can write "applied for" in the space provided on the W-9S for the tax identification number. An international student who has applied for a SSN or ITIN and been denied, may write 'applied for and rejected" on the W-9S form. An international student, who has never applied for a SSN or ITIN, may write, "never applied for" on the W-9S form.

Many international students do not have Taxpayer Identification Numbers and are ineligible to obtain one. Additionally many (but not all) international students are ineligible to claim educational tax credits due to being nonresident aliens for tax purposes. Under such circumstances not supplying the Taxpayer Identification Number may be considered due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect.

W-9S forms that are returned without a SSN or ITIN and with "International student" or similar wording on the form, will be kept on file as record of taxpayer's response to our inquiry, the same as a W-9S with an SSN or ITIN or one that has "applied for" or "applied for & rejected" written in the TIN field.

International students who have valid Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) in the system (what screen) will receive a W-9S as a precaution in case the student has acquired a Social Security Number since the ITIN was originally entered.

The W-9S forms returned by students will be retained on file. W-9S forms that are returned without a SSN or ITIN and with "International students" or similar wording on the form will be kept on file as a record of the taxpayer's response to our inquiry, as will a W-9S that has "applied for" or "applied for & rejected" written in the TIN field.

Bring Form W-9S to the Registrar's or Business Office, 8th floor Tower building.

Without a social security number MassArt cannot process Federal or State aid and loans for you, nor can we notify the federal loan clearing house that you are in school. If your lender does not know you are in school your loans could go into repayment. We will not be able to tell the IRS that you were in school and maybe eligible for a tax credit.

For more information visit IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education.

bursar@massart.edu  •  617.879.7900