George Mason University Weighs in on Tuition Reporting Regs

George Mason University is the largest public research university in the Commonwealth of Virginia, enrolling more than 33,000 students in the Fall and Spring semesters. Our unduplicated headcount for 2015 was over 44,000 students and we file approximately 39,000 1098T records each year. Per the nomination letter submitted by NACUBO, I request to speak on these topics at the public hearing on November 30, 2016.

Reporting the number of calendar months a student was enrolled full time should be eliminated. With overlapping parts-of-term, online classes, study abroad and other complexities, this requirement is impossible to report accurately and yields little to no benefit.

We strongly encourage keeping the exception for non-credit classes. Financial systems and data are unavailable for reporting, the cost to implement is substantial, and the benefit of such reporting is negligible.

The exemption for nonresident alien (NRA) students should be maintained. There are more than 2,900 NRA students at Mason and very few, if any, qualify for a SSN or tax credit. Soliciting for SSNs is unnecessary and would only confuse students and create unnecessary demand on limited resources.

The IRS proposed rule on applying to QTRE first should be a recommendation rather than required. In addition, while taxes are calculated by calendar year, the determinations of QTRE payments should be computed by term. Determining QTRE payments by year does not coincide with school systems or academic calendars, and will lead to taxpayer confusion and potential filing errors.

The opportunity to present comments is greatly appreciated. Time should be taken to develop rules that assist students in accurately preparing their tax returns and reduce confusion regarding 1098T reporting.

Respectfully,