The Internal Revenue Service is giving educational institutions a pass if they fail to include the correct taxpayer identification number on a student’s tuition statement form.

Announcement 2016-03 provides notice that the IRS will not impose penalties under section 6721 or 6722 on eligible educational institutions required to file Forms 1098-T, Tuition Statement, for the 2015 calendar year, solely because they fail to include a student’s correct TIN on Form 1098-T.

There are some caveats. The IRS noted that the announcement is limited to 2015 Forms 1098-T required to be filed by eligible educational institutions by Feb. 29, 2016, or March 31, 2016 (if filed electronically).  The IRS is not providing penalty relief for any other failure that would cause a filer to be subject to penalties under section 6721 or 6722, or any other penalty under any provision of the Tax Code.

The penalty relief comes in response to a provision in the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, which eliminates penalties against educational institutions solely for failing to include an individual’s TIN on a Form 1098-T or a related statement if the institution contemporaneously certifies under penalties of perjury that it has complied with the required standards for obtaining an individual’s TIN.