You may not have to pay tax on the money you received from your employer which was a reimbursement for your educational expenses. According to the IRS, if you receive educational assistance benefits from your employer under an educational assistance program, you can exclude up to $5,250 of those benefits each year. This means your employer shouldn’t include those benefits with your wages, tips, and other compensation shown in box 1 of your Form W-2. This also means that you don’t have to include the benefits on your income tax return. However, you can’t use any of the tax-free education expenses paid for by your employer as the basis for any other deduction or credit, including the American opportunity credit and lifetime learning credit.
There are some requirements to keep in mind. For example, to qualify as an educational assistance program, the employer's plan must be written and must meet certain other requirements. Your employer can tell you whether there is a qualified program where you work.
Additionally, for your reimbursement to qualify as tax-free, the educational assistance you receive must be for expenses such as, tuition, fees and similar expenses, books, supplies, and equipment. Educational assistance benefits don't include payments for expenses such as meals, lodging, or transportation. In your case, you indicated the reimbursement you received was a tuition reimbursement, so it appears your reimbursement would be a qualified educational expense reimbursement.
Included below is a link to IRS Publication 970 that relates to educational benefits which you might find helpful.
Tax Benefits for Education
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