Why do you list ‘amounts billed for qualified tuition’ (Box 2) rather than ‘payments received for qualified tuition’ (Box 1)?
An institution may choose to report either payments received (box 1) or amounts billed (box 2) for qualified education expenses. The university reports amounts billed for qualified tuition (box 2); however, the amount in box 2 of Form 1098-T may be different than what you actually paid. When figuring for education tax benefits purposes, use only the amounts you paid out-of-pocket in 2008.
