Financial aid paid for everything school related, so if i file, will it be beneficial to me?

[johnson3d]

Also, with the educational stipend (grant) i received, that is taxable, i received a letter saying i can file it. during my training i received it as a check

[Coleen3]

Because you have a taxable portion, you can use that amount towards an education credit. See below from Pub 970. The fact that the educational institution applies the scholarship or fellowship grant to qualified education expenses, such as tuition and related fees, doesn't prevent the student from choosing to apply certain scholarships or fellowship grants to the student’s actual nonqualified expenses. By making this choice (that is, by including the part of the scholarship or fellowship grant applied to the student’s nonqualified expenses in income), the student may increase taxable income and may be required to file a tax return.

But, this allows payments made in cash, by check, by credit or debit card, or with borrowed funds such as a student loan to be applied to qualified education expenses.