Like most students here I paid about $27000 for my spring 2020 semester tuition in December 2019, therefore my 2020 1098-T Box 1 only shows about $3000 tuition expense, Box 5 shows about $5000 scholarship grants. In 2019, I was claimed as dependent on my parents' tax return, and they could not take any education credit because of income limit.
I graduated in 2020 summer. Now when I am filing my own 2020 tax return as independent, am I disqualified for claiming any education credit because my 2020 1098-T Box 1 is less than Box 5? Is there any remedy solution for this situation? I also took out 529 plan distributions to pay for my education expenses, do I have to pay tax on 529 earnings?
