A student, without any income, would not normally file a tax return. There are some exceptions.
1. If you are a student, over age 23, and are not claimed as a dependent by someone else (e.g. your parent) you may be eligible for the up to $1000 refundable American Opportunity (tuition) Credit. That credit is not dependent on having either kids or earned income. You must be at least a half time undergraduate student and actually paid tuition (not just had it paid by grants). Tuition paid by loans counts as paid by you (since you have to pay that back, someday).
2. If your scholarships (not loans) exceed your qualified educational expenses, by more than $12,200, you may have enough taxable scholarship income to be required to file a tax return.
3. There is a tax “loophole” available. The student reports all his scholarship, up to the amount needed to claim the American opportunity credit, as income on his return. That way, the parents (or himself, if he is not a dependent) can claim the tuition credit on their return. They can do this because that much tuition was no longer paid by "tax free" scholarship. You cannot do this if the school’s billing statement specifically shows the scholarships being applied to tuition or if the conditions of the grant are that it be used to pay for qualified expenses.
Using an example: Student has $10,000 in box 5 of the 1098-T and $8000 in box 1. At first glance he/she has $2000 of taxable income and nobody can claim the American opportunity credit. But if he reports $6000 as income on his return, the parents (or himself, if he is not a dependent) can claim $4000 of qualified expenses on their return. To use the loop hole, on your own return, you must be over age 23 and a half time or more undergrad.
