1098-T question part 2

[JessK1111]

I asked yesterday a question in regards to this and I figured out a little of what was going on and hoping you can advise me in the correct direction.

I figured out Box 5 is the total amount of grant/scholarship money my daughter received for 2024 as a whole. The amounts posted for spring 2024 and fall 2024 do equal box 5. However then box 1 is signfically less though she had the full grant/scholarship amounts posted and had left over that was either paid with a loan or out of pocket. Would I choose the "daughter different amount" and enter the full amount of the scholarship as that's what she had paid? This truly has me confused and I am having hard time understanding how to make sure she's not paying in if the total amount she was given in grants/scholarship was all put towards her schooling to where she still had a balance that loans/out of pocket paid for.

[AmyC]

I think you are saying the box 1 amount does not show the actual tuition billed and paid, only what was left after scholarships. Scholarship income used on Qualified Education Expenses - IRS is not taxable to the student.  Follow these steps:

Contact the school to see if they will issue a corrected form, if not:

1. Select Federal 
2. Select Deductions & Credits 
3. Scroll down to Education 
4. Select the Show more- if necessary
5. Select Revisit to the right of Expenses and Scholarships (Form 1098-T)
6. On the Your Education Expenses Summary page, select Edit to the right of the appropriate student’s name
7. On the Here’s X’s Education Summary page, select Edit to the right of Education Information
8. Select Edit on Other Education Expenses
9. When it asks for other expenses required to be paid to the school, enter the remaining tuition that scholarships, loans,. you, gifts, etc  paid above the box 1 amount.

The 1098-T should have put the full amount in tuition. Since they did not, get copies of the bursar account showing the tuition and scholarships with the real numbers. Make copies of anything you have to back this up - just in case the IRS asks.

If you are claiming your college child as a dependent, this goes on your return.  See  Whom May I Claim as a Dependent?

[JessK1111]

The school had finally sent a spread sheet to where it shows how they came up with the total of box 1 - they have all the charges that she was billed for/paid in 2024 less her housing expenses. However, for Spring 2024 semester she was billed for classes/tuition in Dec 2023 - since that was not paid until the grant/scholarship was applied to her account in 2024 can I still count that as well? That's where the difference is. Her spring 2025 semester though was not billed until this month, so it confuses me why one semester they'd bill early and one they wouldn't. I'm just hoping I can count what was billed in December 2023 since the payments weren't applied until 2024.

[KrisD15]

Often scholarships post the year after tuition is billed and paid. 

If a scholarship posted in January 2024, but was for classes that were billed/paid in 2023, you can select "Was any of the scholarship in Box 5 for a different year? " and then enter that amount. Basically you are telling the program to subtract that amount out of box 5. 

BE AWARE that if a scholarship on the 2024 1098-T paid for something in 2023, the 2023 1098-T might have an inflated amount in Box 1. 

If you are saying "Part of Box 5 on the 2024 1098-T was for 2023" Then you also have to say "Part of Box 1 on the 2023 1098-T was paid for by a scholarship (that posted in 2024)."

With this logic, you should look and make sure that you did not use the full amount on the 2023 Form 1098-T for a credit on your 2023 Tax Year return. 

It is always a good idea to look at the students school statement and match it to Form 1098-T so that:

• You don't claim income for a scholarship that crossed calendar years
• You don't claim expenses that were paid with a scholarship that crossed calendar years.

IRS Pub 970

[JessK1111]

I did look at her statements and compared to box 1 and box 5 - box 1 does equal what was billed to her in 2024 and box 5 equals the amounts that she received as grants and scholarships in 2024. As I said the only difference is that she was billed for her Spring 2024 classes in December 2023, but per her statement this shows the amount paid for by the 2024 grants and scholarships. And I did have her send me her Spring 2025 statement to make sure she was not billed for that in December 2024 and of course they chose to bill this year - so that amount was not considered on her 2024 1098-T. 

Thank you for your help.