Education assistance counts as income

[Hal_Al]

Yes, you've got the right plan.  But just to make it easier, I suggest a short cut.  On your return, enter the College1 1098-T with $3114 in box 1 and box 5 blank. On her return, enter only the college1 1098-T, with 0 in box 1 and $3165 in box 5. 

The 1098-T is only an informational document. The numbers on it are not required to be entered onto your tax return. 

If you claim the tuition credit, you do need to report that you got one or that you qualify for an exception (the TurboTax interview will handle this)

You claim the tuition credit, or report scholarship income, based on your own financial records, not the 1098-T. 

If you find it easier, just change the numbers in boxes 1& 5 to what your records show. The 1098-T that you enter in TT is not sent to the IRS.

[Sam78]

Thank you for the quick reply!

You are right, there was no 1099-Q last year. However, last year Hal_Al told me to put the scholarship on my son's return under room and boar. He said "When asked if any of the scholarship was used for room & board, enter $1789 (that tells TT that he will be making it taxable on his return, R&B are not "qualified" expenses)" So I assumed it would be the same idea this year.

For this year is sounds like both you and Hal_Al are saying basically the same thing with just slightly different ways of doing it.

Thank you very much for your help!

[Sam78]

Thank you again for the easy and clear instructions.

Out of curiosity, I tried your method, KrisD15's method, and my method and like you said they all gave me the same calculation and with the back-end forms all looking the same. It's interesting how that works!

Is one method technically better or is it more for my own future reference and entering it in a way that would make more sense to me if referencing in the future?

[Hal_Al]

Q. Is one method technically better? 

A. No. 

Q. Is it more for my own future reference and entering it in a way that would make more sense to me if referencing in the future?

A. Yes.  TurboTax can theoretically handle it, the "long way".  But it's easy to make mistakes and people get stuck.  In your case, you have a handle on the expected outcome. If you don't get the result your expecting, you have alternate routes to take. 

[Sam78]

Thank you I appreciate your time and help!