1098-T Box 5 (scholarships) greater than Box 1 (tuition)

[Keeganbr]

On my 2023 1098-T, box 7 was checked, meaning my Spring 2024 tuition was included in 2023’s reported tuition. However, the scholarships and grants for Spring 2024 were NOT included on my 2023 1098-T—instead, they are only showing up on my 2024 1098-T.

Because of this, my 2024 1098-T now reflects only one semester of tuition but two semesters of scholarships. As a result:

• Box 1 (tuition paid) is significantly less than Box 5 (scholarships/grants received).
• This makes it seem like I received $7,000 more in scholarships than my actual tuition costs, which is not true.
• The IRS might interpret this as taxable income, and I may lose eligibility for education tax credits that I should qualify for.

I understand that this issue also affects my 2023 taxes, which were already filed. Given this reporting discrepancy, how should I proceed? Would it be possible to correct the 1098-T so that my tuition and grants are properly aligned in the same tax year?

Thank you for your help.

[RobertB4444 · Accepted solution]

When reporting the 1098-T it will ask if the additional scholarship money was used to pay for legitimate educational expenses that were not shown on 1098-T.  You will answer yes to that question and enter the tuition amount that the scholarship was used to pay for.  

You may also need to amend the 2023 return.  If you received a large deduction for the tuition paid last year that was actually paid with a scholarship then that may need to be adjusted.

Here is a good discussion on this topic.

@Keeganbr