Scholarships used to pay for room/board on-campus

[michaelafruci]

All of my scholarship money went to pay for on-campus dorm and food, billed to the school. Do I have to mark the scholarship income as "not designated for education expenses"?

[JaimeG]

Congratulations on getting a scholarship! Scholarships or portions of scholarships may be taxable. It all depends on how you use them.

If you use your scholarship to pay for any of these, it counts as income and the amount paid is taxable:

• Room and board
• Travel
• Any fees, books, and supplies or equipment that are not required for your courses

If you’re getting a degree at an eligible school, your scholarship is tax-free when used for:

• Tuition and fees
• Fees, books, supplies or equipment required for your courses
• Any scholarship or fellowship for services received under the National Health Services Corps Scholarship Program or the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance Program

For example, if you used your scholarship to pay for tuition and room and board, you would be taxed on the room and board payment but not tuition.