Clueless about TAXES

[omarayache]

Hello,

I need to just figure out a rough estimate about how much of my TA stipend I will actually be getting in order to figure out my rent options etc. I went through the tax page on the university website but it is all very confusing. I read all the tax pages on the forum and I still have no idea what's going on.

I will be getting a $1600/ month stipend (for 9 months) and $3258/term in tuition assistance, as well as medical insurance. I think this is all my taxable income. However I could not figure out my tax rate or anything really.

Can anyone give me a rough idea about how much of the $1600 I will actually get? And is the tax on the tuition assistance also deducted from the stipend? The real question is, roughly how much money will I receive per month after taxes, and thus how much can I plan on spending?

[luvalicious]

You would get the full 1600 a month, because in most cases the school does not deduct taxes from your stipend for you - you have to pay the taxes yourself, usually by making estimated tax payments. As far as your tuition assistance, I don't think you pay taxes on that.

Here's the general IRS page on it: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch01.html And you might benefit from calling your Financial Aid office/HR Block and seeing if you can get someone to explain it all to you.

ETA: I must have missed the part where you said for TA, which I assume means that you'd be working. In which case, what I wrote probably doesn't apply and I can't help. I'm going to leave it up just in case. Sorry about that.

[engguy]

if you're employed as a TA the school should take taxes out for you, so it will depend on what state you're living in and how many dependents you have etc. The rest (insurance / tuition remission) is not taxable. You will get a W-2 form at the end of the year just like every other working stiff. You will also likely get a 1098-T detailing the tuition remission, but you don't need to file that.

If you are international then of course you'll have to deal with the headaches around filing for that, but ultimately it shouldn't be much different tax-wise than a normal filing.

[rising_star]

I would estimate around 10% for federal taxes plus another pittance for state/city taxes, if applicable.

[omarayache]

10% is right on....i asked one of the people from my school that graduated last year and went to austin. he said out of his 1500 he gets like 1350. So 10% it is. But next year the stipends are gonna be 1600, but I guess it won't make much of a difference.

Thanks

[omarayache]

Actually now I just asked a person at the university he said i'll get 1200 out of the 1600....do internationals pay more taxes???

[maa]

Actually now I just asked a person at the university he said i'll get 1200 out of the 1600....do internationals pay more taxes???

Are you sure they will cut all of 400 for only tax? Usually schools waive tuition and health fees, besides these, they have some minor fees, which each student has to pay.

[engguy]

That makes no sense. My wife was an internat'l student and she said that she can't remember the exact percentage, but it wasn't that much and she thought it should be the same as regular taxes in terms of how much you pay. Talk to someone at the international office of the school who deals with these things. You may even wind up saving money because some countries have a treaty with the US that allows up to a certain amount each year completely tax free.

[omarayache]

the international said 10-15 percent....which is kind of like what my friend told me...he pays 10% for the same stipend...

[rising_star]

just remember that you may have to pay student fees and stuff that are deducted from your paycheck