You need to confirm beyond any doubt, that you did not report/claim it on your 2018 return. If you did, then just leave well enough alone and don't claim it on the 2019 return. I "strongly" suspect you paid in 2018 and the college may have applied the payment in 2018. But they did so after they issued the 1098-T for 2018. This type of scenario is not at all uncommon. So please double-check this because if you "double dip" I can assure you the IRS *will* catch it about 24-36 months down the road after you file the return that does the "double-dip."
If this will not be a "double-dip" then just enter the 1098-T exactly as printed, and the screens that follow will allow you to enter those scholarships received in 2019, as well as those qualified expenses paid in 2019 that were not included on the 1098-T.
As a reminder:
- Scholarships, grants and 529 distributions received are reported as taxable income (initially) in the tax year they are received. It does not matter what tax year that scholarship, grant or 529 distribution may be "for".
- Qualified expenses paid are reported in the tax year they are actually paid. It does not matter what year you may have paid *for*.
The taxability of scholarships, grants and 529 distributions received in a tax year, are offset by the qualified expenses they are used to pay for *in that same tax year*.
This is why it is so important that when the student starts their senior and last year of college as an undergraduate, that you pay for in full for the final semester "BEFORE" the Christmas break. Remember, they start that final semester of their senior year in the *FIFTH* calendar year. So if you've taken the AOTC and other credits the previous 4 calendar years, you lose out on those credits if you wait until the 5th calendar year to pay any qualified expenses due.
