Taxes on Stipends (in Texas)

[LeatherWings]

I'm sure this has been asked more generally before, but I specifically would like to hear from students in Texas (although it would be nice to hear from students elsewhere too to get a rough idea of the average): what percentage of your stipend do you pay in taxes? Does it vary from school to school? Thanks.

[LeatherWings]

Anyone?

Also, it would be helpful to know if you file a W-2 or 1099.

[Eigen]

Pretty sure this is going to vary more from school-to-school than state-to-state, since it seems like you're primarily talking about federal taxes here.

Either way, funding can be broken down into: Assistantships- you work (teaching or research) for pay. Fellowships- you're paid, but not directly for some work. Tuition Remission- counts as a fellowship.

For assistantships, they act as normal income, and it shows up on your W2 most places.

For fellowships, they may or may not be reported as income by the school, but you still have to report them on your taxes. Here, however, you can directly deduct *required* school expenses from your income, and report the net.

For tuition remission, this usually shows up on your 1098, and while it counts as income, it's almost always equally displaced by the tuition of the school, but still must be reported.

1099s are forms that you get from your financial institution, showing interest gained over the last year/income from financial transactions.

I'm sure there are cases that don't fit into the above, but that should cover most of them. The IRS has a good publication on this as well. Since by and large funding is counted and reported as income, you pay the same percentage on it as you would any other income, which is in turn dependent on the total amount of income you have.

[LeatherWings]

Thanks, Cup o' Joe. I've looked at some documents on the IRS website, and they agree with what you said, so I think I should be fine when it comes time to actually file taxes.

I would also like to know about how much this comes out too, though. I realize this may vary widely from school to school, state to state and person to person, but I really have no idea what a reasonable amount would even be. Should I assume I'll end up paying 5%, 10%, 20% or more for the sake of making a preliminary budget?

[Eigen]

Easiest way to determine it is to use an online tax calculator. The most heavily determining factors are the individual ones- how much you give to charity, medical expenses, do you own or rent, are you married or single, do you have kids or not, etc.

With that info, it's really easy to see where you fit on the tax scale. I'd recommend TurboTax's online calculator myself.

FWIW, it seems like somewhere between 10-15% is most accurate, depending on the specifics of your situation.

[LeatherWings]

Easiest way to determine it is to use an online tax calculator. The most heavily determining factors are the individual ones- how much you give to charity, medical expenses, do you own or rent, are you married or single, do you have kids or not, etc.

With that info, it's really easy to see where you fit on the tax scale. I'd recommend TurboTax's online calculator myself.

FWIW, it seems like somewhere between 10-15% is most accurate, depending on the specifics of your situation.

I had no idea this existed. Thanks, Eigen.