<p>Tearing my hair out again this year, had to file 4 State returns for 'roaming' D1 last year, and this year it's D2s REU payment (stipend, food and travel allowance) that is making me crazy. </p>
<p>I know it's taxable, and wouldn't have a problem with counting it as regular income, but the university reported it on a 1099-Misc, under box 7, nonemployee compensation. This usually indicates an independent contractor who must pay self-employment tax. If it were regular income, she's under the threshold and doesn't have to file Fed taxes, but if self-employment taxes are due, TaxAct calculates them to be almost $750!</p>
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The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if the payer has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done.
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You are not an independent contractor if you perform services that can be controlled by an employer (what will be done and how it will be done). This applies even if you are given freedom of action. What matters is that the employer has the legal right to control the details of how the services are performed.
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<p>An 'intern' (the REUs wording) sounds like the latter to me.</p>
<p>I've been searching the web, I will likely end up at my accountant, but just wanted to check to see if anyone else has run into this. I'm still making some phone calls as I'm not sure if reporting REU money like this dictated by the NSF or is a college specific decision.</p>
<p>DS did an REU last summer and was paid an hourly wage with taxes withheld. The housing allowance and travel reimbursement were also taxed.</p>
<p>Strange thing, the line on the travel reimbursement was “Travel Expense Non-taxable” but it was still added into the total taxable amount. I have DS checking with the HR people about that now.</p>
<p>That’s good your DSs was reported on an W2, that makes it pretty straightforward income. My D2s college said up front that they weren’t going to withhold anything, which is OK since she was unlikely to earn enough to have to file. It’s the 1099-M and, particularly designating as ‘nonemployee compensation’, that is the problematic part. I did find this in my searching:</p>
<p>Even though she doesn’t have to file taxes since her total income is below the limit for dependents (and assuming that she doesn’t owe self-employment tax),on the advice of my accountant, I’m going to have her file and put the REU money on line 21 and document as 'internship income, not subject to self-employment tax". That way at least when the IRS sees that she got a 1099 from 2013, there will be a tax return that shows that amount.</p>
<p>I guess what bothers me the most is that for as large a program as this is, neither NSF or any of the colleges are willing to give concrete information about how students should file and why.</p>