Reimbursement settlement taxable

[barefootheart]

I settled with my university over meal plan and housing expenses due to the spring 2020 semester that was interrupted by Covid. We received an amount per student in a class action settlement that was calculated as the portion of the cost that was for services not rendered from the day we were forced to move out to the end of the semester. Would this be considered taxable income? My intuition says that since it is a simple reimbursement for money we payed for services that did not occur, it would not be, but many sources online warn that most settlements are taxable unless a specific provision exists excluding them. 

[KristinaK]

I think it can go either way. Yes, most of the time settlements are taxable. But in your case, it could be a reimbursement. What you need to do is look at the settlement agreement and see if there is any verbiage indicating it one way or the other. 

One other consideration (not a sure thing but a general observation), if it is income, the university would have issued a 1099 to you to report that income.