Taxes: Assistantships & Fellowships

Fellowships and assistantships are taxable!

All payments received by graduate students, in the form of assistantships or fellowships, are considered taxable income by the federal government.

Assistantships

Assistantships are paid as earnings and are taxed at the time of payment.

Fellowships

Fellowships can be paid through several different mechanisms, and the mechanism selected determines whether taxes are withheld at the time of payment. Fellowships through the Graduate School are paid in monthly stipends in the fall and spring semesters and do not include withholding of taxes.

Arranging for Withholding

If a student decides taxes should be withheld from his or her fellowship payment, there are several methods that can be used. The most direct, if the student also has an assistantship in a department, is to complete a new W-4 form, requesting additional withholding from the monthly assistantship payment.

Changes in W-4 forms are handled directly by the Payroll Office, 16 Jesse Hall. This office can also assist if additional taxes should be withheld from the assistantship payments.

If Taxes Have Not Been Withheld

Important: If no taxes are withheld during the year, you still have a tax liability with the federal government.

At the time of filing income taxes, if taxes haven't been withheld, the fellowship is reported as unearned income. No W-2 or Form 1099 will be issued by the University identifying this amount. However, it is still the student's responsibility to report the fellowship amount. This requires completing the IRS 1040 long form.