I just received by 1098-T and it has nothing in box 1 and then my financial aid amount in box 5. When I input it like this, I end up getting taxed on the whole amount in box 5 because tuition was charged and reported in 2019 for spring 2020 but financial aid was paid out in january 2020.
There are two different ways I've thought to reconcile this. First, in another post someone recommended to put the total amount paid in the "This isn't what I paid to the school" box, This has a great increase on my refund (due to educational credits). I also saw the "these scholarships weren't for 2020 expenses" box. Which ones of these should I fill in? Should I put that the scholarships weren't for 2020 or just fill the true amount I paid in 2020 in the box asking for the real amount paid? I'm just trying to avoid having any issues with double dipping and the IRS.
