Oh, what a a tricky slope with the boxes being the same.
Most people subtract box 1 from box 5 and enter the difference as income. That is only one method. The other method is to actually increase your income and tax liability a little but dramatically increase your education credit.
You have options:
- do nothing since they match, no credit, no income.
- you can claim some of box 5 as income and then use that amount for education credits. Plus, I bet you had more expenses for your education.
Here is what you could be missing:
What education tax credits are available?
Why is my scholarship taxable?
What are examples of education expenses?