No one likes to do taxes, let alone tens of thousands of them. But every year, higher ed administrators are faced with the cumbersome task of tracking student information and addresses, managing consent for digital tax forms, generating, printing, and mailing 1098-Ts, staying ahead of critical tax deadlines, and avoiding IRS penalties.

These tedious tasks can bog down even the best business offices in higher ed. It seems that even before the January 31 submission deadline, colleges and universities have to begin thinking about the process for the next year. Add this to the current mix of FAFSA delays, declining enrollment, and staffing and budget challenges, and higher ed simply needs an extra hand.

Here are some top tips from ECSI’s Tax Document Service experts to help colleges and universities stay ahead of tax season requirements and keep students (and staff) happy.

1. Understand the 1098-T process and timelines

Higher education institutions are required to issue Form 1098-T for any individual for whom a payment was made for qualified tuition and related expenses during the calendar year, regardless of who made the payment or if it was paid with a grant. Unless requested, non-US residents do not have to be issued a 1098-T.

Higher education institutions must provide a copy of Form 1098-T to eligible students by January 31 of the year following the tax year in which the related higher-ed expenses were paid. The form is due to the IRS on or before February 28 if filed by mail. If filed electronically, it’s due to the IRS by March 31.

Higher ed administrators must stay ahead of important tax deadlines and leave sufficient time for students filing electronically to make corrections and adjustments. For more information, check out The As to Zs of 1098-Ts.

2. Scrub and clean your data

Before embarking on a complicated electronic and mailing process, institutions should perform a scrub of their database to ensure each student’s SSN, name, and address information is present and accurate. The IRS can issue costly fines for missing or incorrect SSN (or other tax identification) information.

Some third-party partners, like ECSI, can support this effort with a secure validation process. By utilizing our four-point validation process against multiple data sources, we help ensure your institution complies with all IRS rules regarding the collection of TINs. Address validation services research the best address for the student. If we locate a better-known address, we’ll send a report.

3. Prepare staff for extra volume of work

Even if your process is nailed down, the sheer volume of paperwork can be overwhelming. Work with your staff to outline key priorities, deadline-specific tasks, and expectations for work. If possible, shift some of your team’s existing workload in advance so that your team can avoid overwhelm and burnout.

4. Prepare your students for what to expect

If you search “1098-T Form” online, most questions and articles are from students asking what the form is and what they’re supposed to do with it. Help your students through this process with clearly outlined FAQs and proactive communications about how your institution handles 1098-Ts. Answer when students can expect them and who they can reach out to with questions.

5. Have a support plan in place

And when your students call your office - because they will - have a dedicated support plan and escalation pathways in place. During tax season, higher ed offices see a sharp rise in calls, emails, and chats. Help your staff and students by dedicating phone lines, setting up a custom Interactive Voice Response (IVR) tool to answer FAQs before routing the caller to the appropriate office, and publishing as much information as possible in the places your students seek information, such as their student portal and school website.

6. Ask for help

As your partner in higher education, we’re here to help you through the process. ECSI’s TaxSelect team can take the hassle out of generating 1098-T forms for your staff – just as we have for hundreds of other schools. Our experienced staff have been providing comprehensive tax document services to higher education institutions since the inception of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997.

Simply submit a secure file to ECSI and then let ECSI handle the rest. We provide full implementation support, print and mail tax forms before the January 31st deadline, submit electronic 1098-T files to the IRS by the March 31st deadline, and upload electronic tax document images to our user-friendly student and client websites for easy access by your students and staff.

• Tier One contact center support for students
• A dedicated team of TaxSelect experts to guide you through the process
• Digital file management, printing, and mailing services
• Intuitive client website for easy corrections to 1098-T tax forms
• Additional services such as SSN, Name, and Address Validation