At the end of every semester, the Office of Treasury Services sends out a request to currently enrolled students asking for their social security number. Know that we value your privacy and we do everything we can to protect it. So, why the request to complete a W-9S form?

In order to comply with the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, Cleveland State University must submit information to the Internal Revenue Service each year for every student who attends the University. The information that is submitted to the IRS includes the tuition and qualified expenses paid and billed on the student's behalf, refunds made to the student for credit hours dropped, and any grant or scholarship dollars credited to the student's account. The Internal Revenue Service works only with social security numbers, therefore, we send a request for this information via a W-9S form to all students whose social security number is not already on file with the University.

In keeping with our sustainability initiatives, each student may also request an electronic copy of the information reported to the IRS. This may help you determine if you are eligible for Higher Education Tax Credits (the Hope Scholarship and the Lifetime Learning Tax Credits). Instructions on securely accessing your electronic 1098-T will be are sent to your CSU email account from our third party provider, ECSI. You'll receive an email notice from webmaster@ecsi.net informing you of how to access your information. And we'll send an email notice to all students in advance, reminding you. ECSI They can be reached at 1-800-437-6931 or at www.ecsi.net.

International students may provide the University with their ITIN (International Taxpayer Identification Number) or a Social Security Number, however, neither is mandatory. We request that the W-9S forms be returned with an indication of your choice.

Please remember that the 1098-T form is not tax advice. If you have questions regarding your 1098-T, we encourage you to consult with your tax advisor before choosing a course of action.