My husband attended college for one semester in January 2016. I was going through the deductions and credits section, which I thought was supposed to help REDUCE tax liability and ideally increase refund potential. The 1098-T provides information on both a "billed" amount in box 2 and a "scholarships and grants" amount listed in box 5. The scholarships and grants amount is higher than the billed amount. When all information is entered, the result is actually a decrease in refund. Given this is the deductions and credits section, can I opt to not attempt this education credit / deduction and not report any of the information from the 1098-T? When entered, my refund is negatively effected. Is reporting 1098-T info on our tax return required?
