Refunds and Taxes
Student Refunds
UNC at Asheville adheres to all Federal and State regulations and guidelines when processing student refund checks. Student refunds are not available each semester until the first day of classes at the earliest. Availability of a refund check is determined by disbursement of funds to the student’s account. The University does not advance funds in anticipation of aid being received. Students will be notified by email when a refund check is available to be picked up. Refund checks that are not picked up within two weeks will be mailed to the student’s address on file.
eRefunds/Direct Deposit Refunds
eRefunds/Direct Deposit Refunds
Skip a trip to the bank and receive your refunds the secure, convenient way.
Students now have the option to set up direct deposit to receive Electronic Refunds (eRefunds) directly into their bank account. Students will also need to enroll in Two-Step Verification to ensure that any changes made to their refund account are made by them.
- Log in to
- Go to ePayments (located under Financial Aid and Payments)
- Click on the Refund Account Setup
- Click on Security Settings in My Profile to enroll in Two-Step Verification
- Once completed, select Refunds and Set Up Account to enter bank information
- Find more .
Please note: Setting up direct deposit is the University’s preferred method of payment to receive a refund. The Student Accounts office will continue to issue paper checks to students who may not have access to a banking institution.
Financial Aid & Credit Balances
When financial aid is disbursed to your account, it is applied to your balance first. If a credit remains after all tuition and fees are covered, it will be reviewed for a refund. You’ll see “Student Refund” on your account when this begins, bringing your balance to $0. This typically occurs 3–5 business days after aid posts.
Important: If you withdraw or reduce your enrolled hours after receiving a refund, your financial aid award may also be reduced — creating a balance owed to the University. Student refunds are issued on or after the first day of classes each semester.
Students with financial aid expecting a refund must complete the Financial Aid Disbursement Authorization Form in OnePort under Financial Aid and Payments → Financial Aid Authorizations. If the form isn’t in OnePort, and bring it to our office.
The VA has changed the way that they handle overpayments and debts in the GI Bill® program:
In the past, the VA would create a debt and ask for repayment from the student when the student reduced or terminated enrollment after the first day of the term. In the upcoming semester, if you have a change of enrollment which results in an overpayment of benefits associated with tuition and fee charges, you will still receive an automated notification from VA indicating the tuition and fee debt amount to be collected.
However, the VA will collect this amount from Ģý rather than you. In turn, you will be required to repay Ģý for any outstanding balance for tuition and fees. If you owe money due to dropping a class or withdrawing, we will reach out to you for the debt once we receive notification from the VA. You will still be responsible for repaying any debts associated with the monthly housing allowance and the book stipend to the VA.
Due to these changes the Student Accounts Office will no longer automatically advance a refund of any financial aid that you receive prior to the start of the semester, however you can request an advance individually based on the expected tuition and fee payment from the VA..
Tax Forms
1098-T Form
The 1098-T Form (Student Tuition Statement) is an informational document provided by Ģý that show payments as well as scholarships and grants received for qualified tuition and fees charged during the calendar year. The information on the 1098-T form complies with IRS regulations.
It is an information tax document to aid taxpayers in determining whether they are eligible to claim a tax deduction or one of the education tax credits on their federal income tax return. The IRS requires schools to report payments received for qualified tuition and fees during the calendar year in Box 1 on Form 1098-T, as well as scholarships and grants received on behalf of the student in Box 5.
The dollar amounts reported on your Form 1098-T may assist you in completing ,the form used for calculating the education tax credits that a taxpayer may claim as part of your tax return.
Note: The reporting of scholarships and grants on Form 1098-T does not determine the taxability of those payments.Its purpose is not to report scholarship income to the IRS.Ģý cannot provide tax advice. If you have questions, we recommend that you refer to the IRS webpage (ǰ) or seek the counsel of a tax professional.
for more detailed information on the information provided on the 1098-T form.
Please be aware that the date that transactions are posted to your student account determines the year that they will show on a 1098-T. For example, if you paid for the Spring 2025 term in December of 2024, those payments were included on the 1098-T form for 2024 instead of the 2025 even though the tuition is for the Spring 2022 term. The same is true for scholarships and grants. Scholarships and grants will be considered for 1098-T reporting based on the date they are posted to the student’s account. This may mean that tuition and fees will be reported in one year and scholarships and grants for the same semester will be reported in the following year because of the date these posted to the student’s account.
The University is not required to provide a 1098-T for students whose qualified tuition and related expenses are waived or paid entirely with scholarships or grants.
1098-T forms will be mailed by January 31, 2025 and are available in OnePort.
Students not eligible for a 1098-T form because their scholarships/grants are more than charges billed, will need to review their student account activity, view the unofficial 1098-T in OnePort, or request a student account summary by completing this .
The process to access the electronic 1098-T version is simple. Just follow these steps:
- Go to
- Enter your User Name and Password
- Click on “Banner Self Service”
- Click on “Student”
- Scroll Down and click on “Tax Notification”
- Enter the Tax Year you want, and click on “Submit”
If you no longer have access to OnePort, you should complete this to request a current or prior year 1098-T form. These request will be reviewed and processed weekly.
Ģý is not required to issue a 1098-T to students whose qualified tuition and related expenses are entirely waived or paid with scholarships or grants (when Box 5 is equal to or greater than Box 1). Students also must have their Social Security number on file with Ģý in order to receive a 1098-T.
Please remember that the 1098-T form is an informational document only and Ģý cannot provide tax advice. If you have questions regarding your 1098-T, we encourage you to consult with your tax adviser before choosing a course of action. For additional information about education tax credits, see the IRS website: ǰ, the current versions of IRS ,, or .
Specific questions regarding your 1098-T information should be addressed to 828.251.6664 or .
Withholding is the amount of tax that Ģý deducts from a foreign national payment and submits directly to the IRS. The amount of withholding is 14% on the amount of scholarships that exceed eligible charges.
Pursuant to United States tax code rules we complete a review of student accounts for the tax each semester. We calculate tax applicable to the amount of scholarships exceed eligible charges (tuition and fees – not including housing, meal plan, or fines).
Eligible students will receive a 1042-S for tax purposes in March reflecting the tax withheld.
In order to comply with the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, Ģý must submit information to the Internal Revenue Service each year for every student who attends the University and has earned academic credit. The information that is submitted to the IRS includes the tuition and qualified expenses billed to the student’s account and any grants or scholarships 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 to all students whose social security number is not already on file with the University.
Withdrawing from Ģý
Students who find that they must withdraw from the University need to “officially withdraw.” They can do so during the drop/add week by dropping all courses online via OnePort and completing the online. A student is not “officially withdrawn” from the University until the Academic Success Center has received the Enrollment Notification Form.
Students who find that they must withdraw from the University after the drop/add week has passed need to submit a . Failure to complete the appropriate form and to “Officially” withdraw from the University may affect the student’s financial aid award, their academic record and their student account balance.
Students who wish to discuss the academic consequence of a change in enrollment status at the university should contact the Academic Success Center.
| Official Withdrawal Completed During | Refund | Last Date for Fall 2025 | Last Date for Spring 2026 |
| First week of classes (Drop/Add) | 100% | 08/24/25 | 01/19/26 |
| Second Week of Classes | 90% | 08/31/25 | 01/28/26 |
| Third Week of Classes | 70% | 09/07/25 | 02/04/26 |
| Fourth Week of Classes | 50% | 09/14/25 | 02/11/26 |
| Fifth Week of Classes | 30% | 09/21/25 | 02/18/26 |
| Sixth Week of Classes | 15% | 09/28/25 | 02/25/26 |
| Withdrawal after the Sixth Week of Class | NO REFUND | NO REFUND | NO REFUND |
Note: Once the drop/add period ends, a student must completely withdraw from the University to receive a refund.
Summer withdrawals are refunded based on a shorter refund schedule.
Title IV funds include Federal Unsubsidized and Subsidized Stafford Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal PLUS Loans, Federal Graduate PLUS Loans, Federal Pell Grants, and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG). Federal Work Study is excluded from this procedure. State funds include Education lottery Scholarship, UNC Need Based Grant, UNC Campus Scholarships, and NC School of Science and Math Grant.
The federal and state mandated Return of Funds Policy governs the return of Title IV and state funds disbursed to a student when the student withdraws from the university during the semester. The Financial Aid Office does the calculation of the amount of Title IV funds that must be returned. The amount returned is based on the number of days attended at the time that the student withdraws from the University.
The student will be notified of the amount returned to Department of Education and the State of North Carolina. If the return creates a balance on the student’s Ģý student account, the student will be sent a bill for their student account balance from the Student Accounts Office.
The refund policy applies to complete withdrawals from Ģý. If a student withdraws from a class (after the drop/add period) but does not completely withdraw from all classes there is no reduction of charges on the student’s account and no refund to the student.
Any questions about this policy should be referred to the Student Accounts Office at studentaccounts@unca.edu or 828.251.6664.
For additional information regarding the academic policy for withdrawals please visit the Withdrawal Policy website.