We received a 1098T showing that my student received scholarships in the amount of $13,000, whereas the tuition payments received (box 1) are lower at $10,500. I understand that the student will need to file their own return and claim this difference of $2500 as taxable income, with no resulting tax liability since they have no other income. However, I also understand that books, mandatory fees, school supplies, even the cost of a laptop and backpack for school can be included in the AOTC. May I still claim AOTC for the amount of books, fees, and other supplies, even if these are not reflected on the school's 1098T? Will this trigger some sort of alert with the IRS, since Box 5 exceeds Box 1 (even though Box 1 is not an accurate reflection of the amount paid for purposes of AOTC)? I don't think we can get to $4000 total credit, so I'm wondering if it's even worth the hassle of trying to claim the AOTC.
