SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship 2022-2023

[HannahH]

32 minutes ago, MicheLo said:

To all those wondering about how postdoc fellowships are taxed - If you hold your award in Canada, postdoctoral fellowships are considered taxable income for Federal income taxes only, and not for Provincial income taxes (so if you are in Quebec, you only pay one tax, the Federal income tax). Some funding agencies do not deduce those taxes from your funding (this is how it words for Quebec provincial postdoc awards like FRQSC; they give you one lump sum of 15k every 4 months and you have to manage it, including putting money aside for taxes; SSHRC awards will now be paid through the host institution, so it may be different going forward for SSHRC, but typically you are not taxed at source with external awards). 

Everyone I know (including myself) who held a postdoc external award in Quebec/Canada had to put a certain percentage of their award aside throughout the year and make sure they had enough money to pay their Federal income taxes every spring. So externally funded postdocs in Canada pay Federal income taxes to Canada (Canada considers you an employee), but we do not pay Provincial income taxes (Quebec, for instance, considers you a student, so no taxes). I hope this helps, it was struggle for me to figure out too at the beginning of my postdoc; note that I am not sure how it works if you hold your award outside of Canada, though.

Yes! We have just unionized postdocs at University of Guelph and how Tri-Council funding is considered (internal vs external funding) has been a big source of contention. As of April 2022, Tri-Council funds will go through your institution, which means they will be able to withhold taxes. As MicheLo said, previously Tri-Council paid you directly in quarterly installments, and didn't withhold taxes. So, the recipient had to deal with that. This will be a much simplified process once the funds go through institutions, but overall -yes, these awards are taxed. 

[Svaaron]

34 minutes ago, MicheLo said:

To all those wondering about how postdoc fellowships are taxed - If you hold your award in Canada, postdoctoral fellowships are considered taxable income for Federal income taxes only, and not for Provincial income taxes (so if you are in Quebec, you only pay one tax, the Federal income tax). Some funding agencies do not deduce those taxes from your funding (this is how it words for Quebec provincial postdoc awards like FRQSC; they give you one lump sum of 15k every 4 months and you have to manage it, including putting money aside for taxes; SSHRC awards will now be paid through the host institution, so it may be different going forward for SSHRC, but typically you are not taxed at source with external awards). 

Everyone I know (including myself) who held a postdoc external award in Quebec/Canada had to put a certain percentage of their award aside throughout the year and make sure they had enough money to pay their Federal income taxes every spring. So externally funded postdocs in Canada pay Federal income taxes to Canada (Canada considers you an employee), but we do not pay Provincial income taxes (Quebec, for instance, considers you a student, so no taxes). I hope this helps, it was struggle for me to figure out too at the beginning of my postdoc; note that I am not sure how it works if you hold your award outside of Canada, though.

Thanks so much for this clarification! Very much appreciated.

[McGooch]

1 hour ago, MicheLo said:

To all those wondering about how postdoc fellowships are taxed - If you hold your award in Canada, postdoctoral fellowships are considered taxable income for Federal income taxes only, and not for Provincial income taxes (so if you are in Quebec, you only pay one tax, the Federal income tax). Some funding agencies do not deduce those taxes from your funding (this is how it words for Quebec provincial postdoc awards like FRQSC; they give you one lump sum of 15k every 4 months and you have to manage it, including putting money aside for taxes; SSHRC awards will now be paid through the host institution, so it may be different going forward for SSHRC, but typically you are not taxed at source with external awards). 

Everyone I know (including myself) who held a postdoc external award in Quebec/Canada had to put a certain percentage of their award aside throughout the year and make sure they had enough money to pay their Federal income taxes every spring. So externally funded postdocs in Canada pay Federal income taxes to Canada (Canada considers you an employee), but we do not pay Provincial income taxes (Quebec, for instance, considers you a student, so no taxes). I hope this helps, it was struggle for me to figure out too at the beginning of my postdoc; note that I am not sure how it works if you hold your award outside of Canada, though.

Hi MicheLo, thanks for this information but your wording is a bit ambiguous. This is definitely the case in Quebec, but can anybody confirm whether a SSHRC PDF in Ontario or BC, for example, will or will not be charged *provincial* income tax? I have tried looking this up but can't get a clear answer anywhere!

[MicheLo]

10 minutes ago, McGooch said:

Hi MicheLo, thanks for this information but your wording is a bit ambiguous. This is definitely the case in Quebec, but can anybody confirm whether a SSHRC PDF in Ontario or BC, for example, will or will not be charged *provincial* income tax? I have tried looking this up but can't get a clear answer anywhere!

Only in Quebec do we file two income tax returns (one Provincial and one Federal), in the rest of Canada (Ontario, BC, etc) people only file one income tax return (the Federal income tax). 

[Mrazy]

The work day is halfway finished today...anyone think the results will be posted today?

[lilmiss90]

Just now, Mrazy said:

The work day is halfway finished today...anyone think the results will be posted today?

I'm starting to lose hope  But also trying to remind myself that there ARE still a few hours left in the day. I suppose the results are just as likely to be posted in the morning as in the afternoon?

[Amanda.A]

20 minutes ago, lilmiss90 said:

I'm starting to lose hope  But also trying to remind myself that there ARE still a few hours left in the day. I suppose the results are just as likely to be posted in the morning as in the afternoon?

Me too, I tend to lose hope once the afternoon hits, but I wonder the same. Will results come at any time? Really, who knows what goes on behind the scenes.

 

Has anyone received the promised email with instructions on how to create an Extranet account? I'm hoping for results any minute, but also don't even have access to the platform yet.

[gleefullygloomy]

9 minutes ago, Amanda.A said:

Has anyone received the promised email with instructions on how to create an Extranet account? I'm hoping for results any minute, but also don't even have access to the platform yet.

I haven't received anything on this yet either. Glad to know I am not the only one.

[PeaDev]

2 minutes ago, gleefullygloomy said:

I haven't received anything on this yet either. Glad to know I am not the only one.

Well that's not good news, last year the extranet accounts were created two days before they started releasing results (which can come at any time of the day, last year's Banting results were announced at like 4:15 p.m.)

[Mrazy]

18 minutes ago, PeaDev said:

Well that's not good news, last year the extranet accounts were created two days before they started releasing results (which can come at any time of the day, last year's Banting results were announced at like 4:15 p.m.)

  

SSHRC: "We'll release results the week of the 28th" 

SSHRC: *releases results on Friday at 11:59pm EST*

Edited March 2, 2022 by Mrazy

[SadieLou]

Hi, all! Just spent like 15 minutes trying to get into this old account after years. I swore that once I got my SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship I wouldn't ever go through the SSHRC process again. And yet . . . 

Just acknowledging the infinite depths of anxious despair into which we have all been plunged and bemoaning how asymmetrical deadlines get the more we progress. I get it--people are finite and overdrawn (especially these days)--but scrambling to defend this month *and* enduring the Big SSHRC Wait is kinda torture.

Anybody ever get told by the CRA that the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship is taxable, by the way? I have a friend in my situation who filed it as a non-taxable scholarship, like I did with mine from my Master's and PhD, and was told flat-out that she was wrong and needed to pay tax on it. Even though it was reported on a T4A (I think? living in America these days). I thought things didn't get taxable until the postdoc.

[msfinley]

15 minutes ago, SadieLou said:

Hi, all! Just spent like 15 minutes trying to get into this old account after years. I swore that once I got my SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship I wouldn't ever go through the SSHRC process again. And yet . . . 

Just acknowledging the infinite depths of anxious despair into which we have all been plunged and bemoaning how asymmetrical deadlines get the more we progress. I get it--people are finite and overdrawn (especially these days)--but scrambling to defend this month *and* enduring the Big SSHRC Wait is kinda torture.

Anybody ever get told by the CRA that the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship is taxable, by the way? I have a friend in my situation who filed it as a non-taxable scholarship, like I did with mine from my Master's and PhD, and was told flat-out that she was wrong and needed to pay tax on it. Even though it was reported on a T4A (I think? living in America these days). I thought things didn't get taxable until the postdoc.

Was she by any chance on any sort of leave or part-time status? In 2020 I took a year-long mat leave but still received my funding and I was taxed on it in 2021 because scholarships are apparently only non taxable if you’re also registered as a full time student during the time you received the funding. Awful surprise during tax season lol as I therefore owed a lot and hadn’t been expecting to.

[msfinley]

54 minutes ago, PeaDev said:

Well that's not good news, last year the extranet accounts were created two days before they started releasing results (which can come at any time of the day, last year's Banting results were announced at like 4:15 p.m.)

I haven’t gotten those instructions either, I’ve been operating under the assumption that they’ll send a single email with information to log in and in that same email indicate that our results are now available and can be seen through that login. Although doing things that way is probably too reasonable and simple for SSHRC and they’ll find a wildly convoluted way to do this involving several emails lol.

[SadieLou]

4 minutes ago, msfinley said:

Was she by any chance on any sort of leave or part-time status? In 2020 I took a year-long mat leave but still received my funding and I was taxed on it in 2021 because scholarships are apparently only non taxable if you’re also registered as a full time student during the time you received the funding. Awful surprise during tax season lol as I therefore owed a lot and hadn’t been expecting to.

Hmmmm! That's deeply unfortunate and unreasonable; I'm sorry to hear you got a nasty surprise.  But I don't think she took a leave. Maybe it's an avenue worth pursuing, though. Like, if she didn't put in her tuition amounts or something, maybe they assumed she wasn't enrolled? Would be an odd approach by the CRA, but everything is odd about our situation as internationals (and, also, the CRA).

[msfinley]

9 minutes ago, SadieLou said:

Hmmmm! That's deeply unfortunate and unreasonable; I'm sorry to hear you got a nasty surprise.  But I don't think she took a leave. Maybe it's an avenue worth pursuing, though. Like, if she didn't put in her tuition amounts or something, maybe they assumed she wasn't enrolled? Would be an odd approach by the CRA, but everything is odd about our situation as internationals (and, also, the CRA).

That definitely could be it, because otherwise you’re correct that to my knowledge doctoral scholarships aren’t taxable, so hopefully it’s a mistake that can be resolved!

[lilmiss90]

Well friends, I think it's probably safe to say we won't be hearing anything today.  Hoping we get some news tomorrow and won't have to wait until Friday.

[SadieLou]

I feel like somebody needs to give SSHRC a head's up about "under-promise, over-deliver." Like, if they told me I'd know in April, and I found out in March--amazing!

As it is, I'm basically a walking vegetable.

[Mrazy]

56 minutes ago, SadieLou said:

I feel like somebody needs to give SSHRC a head's up about "under-promise, over-deliver." Like, if they told me I'd know in April, and I found out in March--amazing!

As it is, I'm basically a walking vegetable.

Same. I check the Extranet and this forum way more than I should lol. All the wondering is a big distraction from regular work. 

[CairoGirl]

FYI all. I got my results. They did NOT announce them to me via any kind of email. Rather, last week I figured it would be wise to check into my extranet from last year, and it took a few days to reset my password. Then I logged on right now thinking I would find nothing and guess what? They were uploaded on February 24!!! Also I did not make it. WTAF. 

I second that SSHRC's system is abysmal and the process is extremely opaque. Postdocs in the US at least give me excellent feedback. 

Good luck all of you! 

[gleefullygloomy]

58 minutes ago, CairoGirl said:

FYI all. I got my results. They did NOT announce them to me via any kind of email. Rather, last week I figured it would be wise to check into my extranet from last year, and it took a few days to reset my password. Then I logged on right now thinking I would find nothing and guess what? They were uploaded on February 24!!! Also I did not make it. WTAF. 

I second that SSHRC's system is abysmal and the process is extremely opaque. Postdocs in the US at least give me excellent feedback. 

Good luck all of you! 

I somehow managed to log into Extranet (forgot I actually had an account - had the SSHRC COVID extension) - nothing has been uploaded for me. 

[msfinley]

1 hour ago, CairoGirl said:

FYI all. I got my results. They did NOT announce them to me via any kind of email. Rather, last week I figured it would be wise to check into my extranet from last year, and it took a few days to reset my password. Then I logged on right now thinking I would find nothing and guess what? They were uploaded on February 24!!! Also I did not make it. WTAF. 

I second that SSHRC's system is abysmal and the process is extremely opaque. Postdocs in the US at least give me excellent feedback. 

Good luck all of you! 

Thanks for sharing this! FEBRUARY 24TH??? That honestly makes me so angry. For a lot of people this determines the next two years of their lives, and I know in my case depending on the results I then need to reach out to my potential supervisor asap to explore our plans B and C and that’s on a time limit as well. I have two kids to support as well as my husband who stays at home with the kids  I’m positive most of us (if not all) are in similar boats where we need results to make decisions. At the very least for the peace of mind of knowing where we’ll be living and what we’ll be doing for the next couple of years.

[msfinley]

31 minutes ago, gleefullygloomy said:

I somehow managed to log into Extranet (forgot I actually had an account - had the SSHRC COVID extension) - nothing has been uploaded for me. 

Thank you for sharing this! It sounds like they’re still posting people’s results then? And have been since at least February 24th? Good grief.

[Svaaron]

Still nothing in my Extranet. If it's alphabetical, I'm not holding my breath. It'll be the end of the line for me.

[PhdMultilinguaEd]

32 minutes ago, Svaaron said:

Still nothing in my Extranet. If it's alphabetical, I'm not holding my breath. It'll be the end of the line for me.

I'm right near the beginning of the alphabet for my last name (B) and fairly close for first name (E) and nothing in my Extranet either, so I imagine it's by some other order -maybe by committee? I have kinda given up trying to make sense of SSHRC though

[Mrazy]

Still nothing for me on Extranet...the waiting game continues.