Does Financial Aid Count As Income?

Many taxpayers may wonder whether the financial aid that they receive for their degree programs could be considered by the US government as taxable income. For degree seeking students, the financial assistance could be taxable in the even it exceeds their qualified tuition and related expenses in their degree The IRS defines the aforementioned expenses as "tuition and fees required for enrollment or attendance at the educational institution or for books, supplies and equipment required for courses of instruction at the institution and required of all students in your course of instruction." Meanwhile, it has to be noted that this is not the case for non-degree students, whose full amount of any grant, scholarship or fellowship is subject to federal income tax. Read Also : Student Loan Payment Pause: Will the pause on student loans be extended?