But for the purpose of determining the standard deduction, and ONLY for that purpose, the scholarship $$ is considered earned income. So say the student receives $6k in non QEE scholarships and earns $6k in the summer. That student’s standard deduction is $12k. If the student has $6k in non-QEE and $8k in earned income, there is going to be some taxes due and I don’t know how it is figured with the new kiddie tax rules. I’m thrilled that this was my daughter’s final semester in college so she is independent for 2018 and she’ll just report the non-QEE amounts as her unearned income, but in the past the tax software figured it out for us