Okay, so here's the deal. I'm trying to determine if I owe taxes on the money that's refunded to my bank account each semester.
For one, on my 1098-T (which I could only get in my school portal, not the particular website where you directly access it), box 5 EQUALS box 1. Now. I've seen people say in that case, that means none of my scholarship or grant money is taxable. But here's my question:
I receive a refund, each semester that I take classes (meaning, I've taken classes each semester, including Summer, but if I didn't take classes in the summer one year, I probably wouldn't get a refund). The scholarship I have pays tuition DIRECTLY (I'm almost certain, no excess money as far as I'm concerned, hence why box 1 and 5 are equal). But, I also get pell grants from FAFSA, so I'm almost certain that these refunds I get are due to me not fully using the pell grant. Also to note, I won a scholarship my first year (from the school) which gave me extra money for my first two semesters (wasn't applicable after).
Now, my mother/parents file me as their dependent and NONE of the refunds from school I've gotten have exceeded 12,400 a year (for any year).
As for the refunds deposited in my bank account, I've saved the vast majority of the funds. I'm not sure, but I don't know if I need to file for the refunded money I do spend. I have received HEERF grants, which have added up to be more than I've spent (and apparently these are not taxable), which should cover my spending.
So do I need to file my taxes/a return, or do I not meet the requirements and I have nothing to worry about?
