Carthage32

Hey everyone, I hope tax season is going well! Sorry for asking this again if it was already addressed, but just wanted to clarify one thing: I have a W2 which shows income from an on-campus job I had and I have a 1042-S which shows my fellowship payment. Am I right in thinking that I don't have to report the 1042-S to CRA? (There was tax withheld on the fellowship payment, and I'm claiming that as a foreign tax credit, if that matters). Or should I be reporting the W2 + 1042S amounts as total income? Thanks so much!

Ah great thanks, TakeruK. That makes sense. I actually tried tinkering with Studio Tax again, and it turns out that it does allow you to enter the amount in the T4A data input screen, but it just doesn't show up on the actual T1 general return. You're right that this make more sense because this way, there is a record of it. Thanks again!

One quick point about the Tri-Council awards: am I correct in thinking that, if you are a full-time student eligible to claim the full education amount, you do not have to report scholarships like the Tri-Council? I used Studio Tax to do my returns, and it would not let me enter the Tri-Council amount from the T4A in line 130. When I asked around why that was the case, I was told that scholarship amounts that fund your enrolment in a full-time program are not taxable and do not have to be reported.

Hey PennPal, sorry to hear about your TL11A issues. It's really frustrating that your school won't fill it out. Is there someone else you can talk to? For what it's worth, when I initially went to my bursar's office, they didn't really know what to do with it, but luckily they sent me over to the Registrar and they filled it out. I don't know if the Bursar and the Registrar are different offices at your school, but maybe that's worth a shot? I should also mention that I only found out about the TL11A last year (thanks to TakeruK's comments on this thread!). So I also had to file adjustments for previous years, and it was pretty straightforward. So that option will always be there for you.

Ah okay, I understand. Thank you so much for the response, TakeruK. So far the university has been withholding 14% exactly. So, maybe I did complete the W-8BEN form at some point during orientation. I didn't realize that it would be up to 30% without the form. This helps to clarify it. Thanks again!

Hey all, I hope everyone's tax season went okay. So, I have a somewhat bizarre question, based on totally second-hand info: Is is true that for Canadian citizens if we complete and submit a W-8BEN form (or something like that?), we can be exempt from the taxes that the IRS withholds? I don't know too much about this, but I have heard that under the US-Canada tax treaty, we can be exempt from the withholding taxes if we submit the appropriate paperwork. Anyone know more about this?

Quick question for folks starting their awards in September: do we need to submit any paperwork now, or am I correct in thinking that the form for the first instalment should be sent in August? (Can't remember where I read that or if I just imagined it...) Also, if I attend an American school, do I need to do direct deposit with an American bank, or can I do it with my Canadian bank account too? I'm not planning to be on campus for the whole year, so I thought it would be better to have the funds sent to my Canadian account and then transfer to the US on an as-needed basis. Thanks! Hope everyone is having a good summer.

Thanks Kermit! I see the form online. I'm in Massachusetts.

Great, thanks for the info, bentharbour

Thanks for the info! So, I assume this means you get it in two installments each year?

Hey everyone, I need to fill out some department paperwork about funding and I just wondered if someone could shed some light on how SSHRC funding is disbursed for those of us in American universities. Do we get a lump sum amount at the start of every year? Or every term? Or does it come in monthly/biweekly instalments? Also, for those of us in the US, does the funding come in US dollars in a US bank account? Or, do they disburse it in Canadian dollars to a Canadian account? And, if it comes in US dollars, is there a set conversion rate they use, or is it whatever the market rate is at the time? I realize that the Canadian dollar is performing poorly these days, so I'm wondering what the $20k doctoral award will be reduced to by the time it is converted into US dollars. Thanks everyone!

Finally got my letter here on the East Coast. Successful in Category B! Congrats to all who were successful and best of luck to those re-applying. Don't lost hope! This was also my second time applying. I was wait-listed last year. I still don't have any publications, and my reference letter writers were the same as last year. The only thing that changed in my application from last year to this year was a substantially-revised statement (like, really really substantially revised). And, of course, thanks to everyone on this thread for being a constant source of help and encouragement these last couple of years!

Also got a provisional acceptance via email this afternoon. So happy, but still completely in shock...

I second the TD recommendation. When I moved to the US from Canada, I opened a TD Bank account in the US (I already had a TD Canada account). You can actually open a TD US account via phone/mail, and don't need to go to a branch. Once you have both a TD US and a TD Canada account, transferring money is a breeze. They don't charge any transaction fees, and all it takes is a 5 min phone call when you want to transfer.

Great, thanks, TakeruK! Thank you very much for your detailed response. I guess the only thing I was confused about was claiming a tuition waiver as tuition paid without showing it as income. But, it makes sense that one doesn't have to report non-employment income. And, looking at the TL111A form, it does say that eligible tuition includes "fees paid by scholarship income". Thanks again!

I was just doing my taxes, and I came across this thread. Very, very helpful! Thank you so much. I didn't know that CRA allowed tuition waivers to be counted as income. What I had been doing was only reporting my stipend income and not claiming any tuition paid, which means I missed out on some educational tax credits last year. So, to clarify: if my university gives me $25k stipend and a $30k tuition waiver, I should report $55k in total income and then claim $30k as tuition paid? Is that right? And, I'm assuming that universities in the US are okay with filling out the TL11A, even though you've technically not paid tuition directly?

Hey all, so my letter finally arrived today - I guess it was just slow to get here because of the weather. My application has been forwarded to the national competition. Best of luck to everyone!

Thank you, Konstantin! That's good to know. I guess maybe the mail has been a bit slow in the last week or so due to the snowstorms here on the east coast. I'll keep my fingers crossed. It would be disappointing not to make it to the next round this year, after being wait-listed last year. In any case, thank you for your well-wishes!

hey guys, another direct applicant here. I haven't yet received anything - I wonder if that means I didn't make it to the next round. Does anyone know if direct applicants who are rejected hear back now or do they get rejections in April/May? Also, weirdly, when I log in to the SSHRC portal, it says "nothing to display" and doesn't show my application. Wonder if that is another sign... Anyway, congrats to everyone who made it through!

My personal experience has been that 'big name' faculty are great to have on your committee, but often do not make good main advisers, for all the reasons that telkanuru has mentioned above. In my first year, I was a pretty inexperienced, timid, lost PhD student and I felt that I needed a lot of hand-holding, which I definitely would not have gotten from a 'big name' faculty. By my second and third years, however, I had a clearer sense of what my project was going to be and I felt a bit more confident in approaching other faculty members. I now have a 'big name' faculty on my committee, and I think it has struck the right balance. I don't get a whole lot of face-time with him, but he's great with giving feedback on papers, etc, while I still go to my main adviser for mentorship and advising stuff.

You may know about this already, but just in case: there was a recent edited volume titled Memory and History: Understanding Memory as Source and Subject, edited by Joan Tumblety. As someone who knew very little about 'memory studies', I felt it was a pretty good introduction. There is actually an essay in that volume about ancient Greece, so that might be of interest especially since you are looking to adapt this to Roman history. There is also a great journal called History and Memory. It might be worth browsing through some recent issues to see what the state of the field is now and what kinds of work people are doing. Finally, a lot of new theory work on memory is actually coming from Trauma theory and theories of historical trauma. This is pretty heavy-duty theory that I'm not very well-versed in. But, a good introduction is Trauma: Explorations in Memory, edited by Cathy Caruth. Be forewarned, though, that this requires delving into some very complicated Lacanian and Freudian critical theory work.

Hey Konstantin! Sadly, there was no movement on the waitlist. So, I've re-applied again this year. Best of luck to everyone!

Hi, yes, I applied for it last year. But, unfortunately, did not make it to the interview stage. Best of luck to you, if you've applied!

Another transcript request here (also around 5pm EST). And, yep, it seems from previous years' threads that requests are staggered out over several days. So, I'm sure there are many more to come. Fingers crossed for everyone.

Oh wow, Zaftig! Congrats to you! My score is very, very, verrrrry close to yours, and I was wait-listed, which makes me wonder: do I dare get my hopes up for this wait list? But, then again, we could be in different committees, so maybe the score comparison is meaningless.