Q. Would I be correct in thinking that under these circumstances, our son does not have to pay taxes on his scholarship and we do not have to file amended taxes for 2023?
A. Yes. My original interpretation of your situation was that the school had simply forwarded the left over scholarship money to you. Your interpretation that it is, instead, a refund of expenses, you previously paid, appears to be on solid ground; particularly since the school "sent the parents (not the student) a refund check with the description Winter 2024." I would go for it.
You are correct, if you receive a "refund", you can redeposit the money within 60 gays from the date of the refund to undo the distribution. IRS Publication 970 has similar wording to your source:
"If a student receives a refund of qualified education expenses that were treated as paid by a QTP distribution, the student can recontribute these amounts into any QTP for which they are the beneficiary within 60 days after the date of the refund to avoid the need to figure the taxable part of the QTP distribution."
