In a nutshell.
All monies received from "ANY" source for "qualified" education expenses is treated as taxable income *INITIALLY*. It's taxability is offset by the "QUALIFIED" education expenses it is used to pay for.
So if employer provided assistance is included in box 5 of the 1098-T and is *NOT* included in box 1 of your W-2, then treat it *EXACTLY* like a scholarship. As far as the school is concerned, that's what it is. Otherwise, they would not have included it in box 5 of the 1098-T.
