My son has been "independent" since 2022, but I help him complete his tax returns. He graduated with a Master's Degree in Spring 2024. His senior year and both years of graduate studies were fully paid by a third party as part of a very generous scholarship program. All funds were sent directly to the university for all three years.
He received the Form 1098T for 2024 and the difference between Blocks 1 and 5 is about $7K, which would imply that my son would have received $7K in income. We have spoken to the university, and they stated that since their Spring 2024 bill was issued in late 2023, Block 1 was significantly lower. This does NOT make sense to me since Block 1 refers to "PAYMENTS". The scholarship program did not make payment for Spring 2024 until 2024, but talking to the university is like talking to a "rock". Again, my son did not receive any of the payment made to the university, so he should not be subject to income on the difference. Any thoughts?
