Thanks for clarifying @Carl and @Hal_Al. To confirm, my employer (a college) who provides me graduate tuition benefit that relates directly to my job will only be tax-free up to $5,250 because of changes in the rule that affected being able to deduct those amounts effective for filing year 2018.
The W-2 does not include first the $5,250, but my college did state: "has elected to not make the determination on whether or not a course is job related and will include all tuition remission greater than $5,250 in wages. Employees that deem the courses related to their job may deduct the corresponding amounts from taxable income when filing taxes." so this is outdated guidance from my employer then?
