Taxes on fellowship?

[sidneysamson]

Hi guys,

I have a fellowship stipend for $28500 a year for the first two years in my program. Does anyone know how much I should put aside for taxes? I'm a US citizen in California.

Also, how could the IRS find out if someone used the stipend for room and board (taxable) vs books (not taxable). Are there any tips and tricks for minimizing the taxes I have to pay?

All advice is appreciated!

[Eigen]

They can audit you, and you'd have to show receipts for the books you purchased, and that they were required for a class. 

 

If you're single, I'd say about 4-5k for federal, and being as it's Cali, another few K for state taxes, I'd guess. 

 

You can use any of a number of tax calculators out there. 

 

Also a good chance you'll need to pay estimated taxes through the year to avoid a year end penalty. 

 

4 or 5 good threads on this from the last year.