Paying tuition straight to the school keeps your help on the student's account. Learn how school payment portals, privacy rules and education credits work.
Find the student's account and the real amount due
Start with the student. Ask for the school's name, the student ID number, the term and the balance shown on the student account, which a bursar or student accounts office usually manages. Look at the due date closely. Some schools add late fees or place a hold that blocks registration, transcripts or next term's classes when a balance stays unpaid. Wait until financial aid, scholarships and loans have posted before you decide how much to cover, since those credits often arrive close to the start of the term and can shrink the bill. The number that matters is what the student still owes after aid.
Use the school's own payment channel
Schools usually offer ways for someone other than the student to pay. Many student account portals let the student invite an authorized user, who gets a separate login to view the bill and make payments without seeing grades. Some schools also offer a guest payment page or accept checks mailed to the bursar with the student ID written on them. Find these options on the school's official website, not through a link in an email. International payments are often routed through a provider the school chooses, and the school's site will name it. Whatever method you use, keep the receipt that shows the student's name and the term.
Privacy rules once a student is in college
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) shapes what a school will tell you. When a student turns 18 or attends a college or university at any age, the rights under FERPA move from the parents to the student. That means a school may decline to discuss the student's account with a parent, grandparent or friend unless the student gives permission or another exception applies. The simplest fix is for the student to set you up as an authorized user or sign the school's release form. You can often still make a payment without that access, but you may not be able to see what it covered.
Know which charges your payment covers
A student account can mix tuition with housing, meal plans, parking, health insurance and fees. Ask the bursar how an outside payment is applied when the account mixes these charges, especially if you want your money to go toward tuition. That detail matters for taxes as well as budgeting. Under a federal rule, 26 CFR 25.2503-6, tuition paid straight to a qualifying school is not counted against the federal annual exclusion for transfers to another person, which is $19,000 per person in 2026, and the tuition amount has no cap. Books, supplies, dormitory fees and board do not count as tuition under that rule. Our guide to the direct payment rule has the details.
Education credits stay with the student's household
You may wonder whether paying tuition takes a tax credit away from the family. Under IRS regulations at 26 CFR 1.25A-5, when a third party pays qualified tuition directly to the school, the student is treated as receiving that payment and then paying the school. So the student, or the parent who claims the student as a dependent, may still be able to claim an education credit such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit. The person who sent the money generally does not get the credit. Credit rules include income limits and other conditions, so the family should confirm with a tax professional before filing.
Talk to the financial aid office first
Before you send a large amount, ask the student to check with the financial aid office. Outside scholarships can change a student's aid package, and the office can say whether your help needs to be reported. The office can also explain payment plans that spread the term's balance over several months, emergency grants for students and how to appeal an aid decision if the family's income has dropped. Knowing these options may change what you choose to pay, or when you pay it. A student who is close to being dropped for nonpayment should call the bursar right away, because a call before the deadline gives the school a chance to help.
Paying an Education bill through Settlemont
Settlemont accepts tuition bills under its Education category. The student, as the bill owner, submits privately with a first name, email, state, category, amount and due date, then identifies the school in a separate private step. Staff verify the school, the student and the current balance. Once approved, the public page shows only the first name, state, category and verified amount. Supporters choose how much to put toward it, with a 7% card or 5% bank fee added on top, and support goes directly to the school instead of to the student as cash. A bill is marked paid only after a reviewer records a confirmation reference from the school and a zero balance.
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