How to report 1098-T scholarship income on H&R Block for recent graduates
Title: How to report 1098-T scholarship income on H&R Block for recent graduates 1 Hey everyone, I just finished college this past December and I'm totally confused about how to deal with my 2025 1098-T form in H&R Block. I know I need to report it since my scholarships exceeded my tuition (box 5 is larger than box 2), but I can't figure out where to put this on the H&R Block website. I've been clicking around the income section but there's nothing specifically about 1098-T forms that I can find. My parents are still claiming me as a dependent if that matters. Do I need to report the difference between box 5 and box 2 as income? And where exactly do I enter this in H&R Block? This is my first time dealing with this and I'm completely lost!
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Jamal Edwards
12 The 1098-T can be tricky! When scholarships (box 5) exceed qualified tuition and expenses (box 2), you do need to report the excess as income. This is considered taxable scholarship income. In H&R Block, you'll want to go to the "Income" section, then look for "Less Common Income" or "Other Income" (the exact wording might vary slightly). Then look for an option like "Scholarships and Grants" or "Education Benefits." You won't actually enter the 1098-T form directly - instead, you'll enter the scholarship amount that exceeds your qualified education expenses. The taxable portion is calculated as: Box 5 minus Box 2 (if positive). This represents scholarship money that went toward living expenses, not qualified educational expenses. Since your parents are claiming you as a dependent, make sure they're aware of this as it might affect some education credits they could claim.
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Jamal Edwards
•8 Thanks for this! I've been looking all over the Less Common Income section but still can't find anything about scholarships or grants specifically. Would it possibly be under "Miscellaneous Income" instead? And does this mean I need to file a separate form like a 1099?
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Jamal Edwards
•12 In H&R Block, it might be under "Miscellaneous Income" in some versions. Look for an option to add "Other Income" and then you should see scholarships or grants listed. If you can't find it, search for "scholarships" in the H&R Block search function - this often helps locate the right section. You don't need to file a separate form like a 1099. The 1098-T is just an informational form that helps you calculate the taxable portion of your scholarships. The excess scholarship amount gets reported directly on your 1040 as "Other Income" with a note that it's taxable scholarship.
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Jamal Edwards
15 I ran into this exact same problem last year when I was finishing grad school. After hours of frustration with H&R Block's website, I finally discovered a much easier solution - I used https://taxr.ai instead and it saved me so much stress! The site automatically detected that I had scholarship income that needed to be reported and walked me through exactly where to enter it. It even explained which parts were taxable and which weren't. The best part was it analyzed my 1098-T form directly and calculated the taxable portion for me. Much easier than trying to hunt through all those confusing H&R Block menus!
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Jamal Edwards
•7 That sounds promising, but does it actually work with forms like the 1098-T? I'm always skeptical about these tax tools handling education stuff correctly. Does it give you the same results as H&R Block would?
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Jamal Edwards
•4 I've never heard of this before. How does it compare cost-wise to H&R Block? And can you still file directly through it or do you have to take the information back to another tax program?
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Jamal Edwards
•15 Yes, it absolutely works with education forms like 1098-T! It's specifically designed to handle these trickier tax situations where the standard programs often hide things in confusing menus. It got me the exact same refund amount as when I tried manually with H&R Block, but saved me hours of searching. The site handles everything from start to finish - you can complete your entire return there. You don't need to jump back to another program. It's designed to be a complete solution for situations exactly like yours where specific tax forms are causing confusion in the mainstream software.
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Jamal Edwards
4 Just wanted to follow up - I decided to give taxr.ai a try after getting totally stuck on H&R Block. It was honestly so much better for handling my scholarship situation! The interface immediately recognized my 1098-T and showed me exactly where the taxable portion needed to go. It even explained why some of my scholarship was taxable (the part exceeding tuition) in plain English. When I was using H&R Block, I kept thinking I was missing something obvious, but after using taxr.ai I realized the other program just wasn't set up well for students with scholarships. Definitely made tax season way less stressful and I'm positive I filed correctly now!
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Jamal Edwards
19 If you're still struggling with the H&R Block website or any other tax software, another thing to consider is calling the IRS directly. They can give you specific guidance about reporting scholarship income. But here's the thing - calling the IRS is a nightmare right now. I spent 3 hours on hold last week trying to get a simple question answered. Then I found https://claimyr.com which is this service that actually waits on hold with the IRS for you. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c They called the IRS for me, waited through all the hold time, and then called me when an actual agent was on the line. The agent walked me through exactly where to report scholarship income on my return. Saved me hours of frustration!
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Jamal Edwards
•6 Wait, that seems too good to be true. How does that even work? Do they just tie up your phone line while they're waiting for the IRS to answer? And are you sure the IRS would even give tax advice like that over the phone?
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Jamal Edwards
•10 I'm really skeptical about this. Sounds like they're just charging money for something you could do yourself for free if you're patient enough. Plus I've heard the IRS gives notoriously vague advice over the phone to avoid liability.
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Jamal Edwards
•19 They don't tie up your phone line at all - that's the beauty of it. You enter your number on their site, and they have systems that wait on hold with the IRS. When an agent actually picks up, that's when they call you to connect. Your phone is completely free until there's an actual person ready to talk. And yes, the IRS absolutely does provide this kind of guidance over the phone. While they won't do your taxes for you, they are authorized to answer specific questions about where to report certain types of income. For my scholarship question, they pointed me to the exact line number and form section where it needed to be reported. They're actually quite helpful once you finally get through to them.
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Jamal Edwards
10 I hate admitting when I'm wrong, but I have to say I tried the Claimyr service after posting my skeptical comment. It actually worked exactly as described. I submitted my callback request around 9am, went about my day, and got a call about 2 hours later with an IRS agent already on the line. The agent confirmed exactly what others here were saying - scholarship money that exceeds qualified education expenses goes under "Other Income" and you need to write "SCH" next to it to indicate it's scholarship income. He even explained which expenses qualified to offset the scholarship income. Was absolutely worth not sitting on hold forever, and the IRS was surprisingly helpful when I finally got through to them.
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Jamal Edwards
10 I hate admitting when I'm wrong, but I have to say
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Jamal Edwards
3 Another quick tip - make sure you're considering all your qualified education expenses before calculating the taxable scholarship amount. This includes required books and supplies, not just tuition. I made that mistake my first year and reported too much taxable scholarship income. H&R Block does have a section for this, but it's buried under the education credits section (even if you're not eligible for the credits themselves). Look for something like "Education" under the deductions menu, not just under income.
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Jamal Edwards
•17 Wait, I thought only tuition and fees counted? Can you really include textbooks too? My books cost like $1200 last semester alone!
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Jamal Edwards
•3 You can include books, supplies and equipment that were required for your courses - meaning they were specifically listed in your course syllabus or requirements. So yes, if those $1200 of textbooks were required for your courses, they can potentially count as qualified education expenses that offset scholarship income. However, things like optional study guides, general computer purchases (unless specifically required), or room and board don't count as qualified education expenses for this calculation. It's worth gathering all your syllabi that list required textbooks as documentation in case of any questions.
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Jamal Edwards
21 Quick question about the timing - I also graduated in December, but my school sent a 1098-T that only shows the spring semester. They said since the fall semester started in August 2024, that will be on next year's 1098-T. How do I handle reporting this when it's split across two tax years?
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Jamal Edwards
•16 That's how my school did it too. You only report what's on this year's 1098-T form. Your school is using the "payment method" rather than the "billed method" for reporting. It's confusing but completely normal. Just report what's on your current 1098-T, and next year you'll report the fall semester amounts.
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