Do I include tuition "expenses" that are immediately reimbursed by the school?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
April 7, 2022
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I attend a PhD program at a university that does not issue 1098-T forms. Each semester there is an official tuition amount posted to my student billing account. Per the terms of my graduate program, the university then immediately issues a scholarship that zeroes out that amount. They show up as separate line items on my student account. Do I include both the tuition "paid to the school" and the scholarship "given to me" on my tax return, even though it's really just the university giving money to itself?

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MinhT1

As your scholarship pays for your tuition and you have no out-of-pocket education expenses, there is nothing to report for education expenses on your tax return.

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Hal_Al

Employee

The 1098-T is only an informational document. The numbers on it are not required to be entered onto your tax return. However receipt of a 1098-T frequently means you are either eligible for a tuition credit or possibly your student has taxable scholarship income. You claim the tuition credit, or report scholarship income, based on your own financial records, not the 1098-T.

Based on your description, of your circumstances, you don't need to be entering anything, about education, on your tax return. You don't qualify for a credit (your tuition was paid by a scholarship restricted to tuition [or tuition remission plan]) and none of your scholarship is taxable (it was all used for qualified expenses [tuition]).