1098-T Scholarship Room and Board

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
March 12, 2021
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Hi,

I am a full time graduate student that only has a 1098-T with tuition and scholarships. I am trying to understand how to enter the Amount used for the "Room and Board" entry and the "Books or Materials" entry. Do these need to add up to the total amount of the 1098-T scholarship? For example if the scholarship is 20,000 and 16,000 was use for room and board. Does the book and materials need to be 4,000? I had book and equipment expenses but I was also able to save part of the 4,000.

Regards,

Mike

Hal_Al

Employee

Scholarships that pay for qualified educational expenses (tuition, fees and required books & course materials that were purchased*) are tax free.

Simple rule of thumb: when box 5 of the 1098-T is larger than box1, the difference is taxable income, unless you enter additional information to change it. You don't need to enter room & board, unless you want to change (increase) the taxable amount. You may reduce the taxable amount by entering any qualified books & course materials costs.

*The book purchase rule is slightly different for undergrads, who are eligible for the American Opportunity credit