If your college student is fortunate enough to receive some financial aid, what are the tax implications? It depends. Gift aid, which is money that a student doesn’t have to work for, is often tax-free. There are certain requirements, such as the recipient must be a degree candidate. Gift aid may be called a scholarship, fellowship, grant, tuition discount or tuition reduction. In arrangements that require a student to work in exchange for money, payments are considered compensation from employment and must be reported as income on the student’s federal tax return. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean he or she will owe taxes.