is it taxable if PhD student accepts teaching assistantship with full waiver & stipend
The $47,982(tuition+fees)is completely waived and he is promised a $1,725 stipend per month. The only condition is that he agrees to be a teaching assistant with a set number of hours per week.
I’m just curious because he also has to sign a contract that reads like an employment contract. Does that make him technically an employee and therefore making the tuition waiver & stipend taxable next year?
Thanks!
Any funding above tuition, fees, and other qualified expenses is taxable.
The 47k wouldn’t be taxable if it’s going to cover tuition but the 1725 per month is. Also be aware that if taxes aren’t taken out by the school, he has to file his own taxes and pay them quarterly.
ok, that makes sense… so the stipend is treated like regular salary, white the tuition waiver of $47k is treated like a scholarship, right? guess he’ll just have to set money aside to pay the taxes next April. 
what about the health insurance? on a separate document, the school says that they’ll pay “up to half” of his health insurance premium (which is through the school’s own medical school or something) is such benefit taxable?
No, contributions to his insurance are not taxable.
See this: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc421.html and https://www.irs.gov/publications/p505/index.html for information about estimated tax filing. It’s may not be just a once-a-year filing depending on his circumstances. Most fellowship recipients have to pay quarterly because they’ll owe more than $1k in taxes for the year.
He might be able to request for the university to withhold taxes on his stipend that he receives for teaching.
is a PhD who accepts teaching assisantship considered a faculty member?
the reason I’m asking is that the contract shows this:
“in addition to your duties, you will also receive benefits
for being a faculty member… they include faculty/staff
discounts at…”
It went on to list examples of third party companies and stores.
His health insurance probably has nothing to do with the med school. Most colleges offer a health plan for students (through a health insurance company). Students who can’t prove health insurance coverage that meets certain rules (set by the college) are required to purchase the plan through the college. Costs vary, usually $1500-2000 per year, although I noticed one that was a whopping $4000 per year recently.
I’m not considered a faculty member when I teach as a grad student but perhaps this varies by uni.
Why do you ask? It doesn’t change anything for tax purposes.
Back in the Stone Age, I received a w-2 for my grad assistant ship stipend earnings.
So did my son in 2008.
Both schools did full withholding. Neither my son nor I had to file quarterly with estimated payments.
My U issues a W-2 when you’re teaching and have a GSI salary. However, when you have a stipend, it gets put on the scholarship/tuition form (can’t think of the form number off the top of my head).
The GSI (or GSRA- Grad Student Research Assisstantship) position has taxes taken out but when you’re on fellowship, you don’t.
@romanigypsyeyes the 1908-T
With or without W-2, stipends and scholarships are considered income. For scholarships, you may take out any qualified expenses such as tuition from the total amount. For stipend, I did report it as income when I did my PhD.
that’s what I remember as well… reported the scholarship
amount as income, but also the tuition as expense, so they
pretty much cancel each other out, more or less…
but what happens if the doctoral student has a full tuition
waiver? does he/she still get a tuition bill? or a tuition bill
that says “$0” ???
They get a 1098-T form with the tuition amount and the amount of aid given by the school.
So say tuition is 20k and you have a tuition waiver and 30k stipend. So on the form it would say “Tuition: 20k” and “Grants: 50k” so you’re only taxed on the 30k stipend.
I did not receive a 1098-T when I was in graduate school that offered me tuition scholarship. Indeed, they don’t need to give you one if the amount is less or equal to your tuition. Stipend is not on 1098-T and it has tax withheld on W-2 just like regular income.
Not true. My DD got a 1098T this year. She received NO scholarship money at all…just loans. Her school,automatically sends it to everyone.
@billcsho you’re wrong. I literally just filled out my taxes and this is my third year filling out taxes as a graduate student- sometimes with fellowship and sometimes with a GSI salary. Our stipend is reported on our 1098T form. Box 5 is our tuition waiver + stipend amount and box 2 is our billable fees. Box 5 - Box 2 = our stipend (plus any other funding you get that isn’t part of a hourly or salaried job… like research and travel grants). THAT is taxable but you have to file your own taxes because it’s a stipend and treated like a scholarship.
SALARIES such as you get from a GSI/GSRA postion have taxes taken out with each paycheck.
There is a difference between a fellowship stipend and a teaching salary.
Perhaps things have changed since you were in school?
@romanigypsyeyes There is no right or wrong. I am telling my experience and you are telling yours. When I went to graduate school, they just treat stipend as regular income abd do not show it on 1098-T. Don’t be self center.
@thumper1 My DD did not receive 1098-T lfor 2014 even she hads cholarships and grant. I beleive they need to provide one from 2015 on as it is required now. Above was my past experience rather than a generalization.
The 1098 T is required if you are applying for any of the tax credits.