Filing taxes - Fellowship

[Eidda]

Hello,

 

So I am new to filing taxes independently. So for this 2013/2014 school year I'm on a 18k graduate fellowship and received 9k for the Fall 2013 semester. Since this is not "wages" my school did not issue me a W-2 or 1099. How do I go about filling my fellowship stipend, which I know is taxable. My father insists that the school needs to provide me with some sort of documentation, and I plan on calling the office tomorrow, however the more I google the more I see how complicated filing fellowships can be and I don't wan't to screw this up. 

 

I assume I'll have to file federal and state (Indiana) as I was given my stipend in a lump sum with no amount withheld for tax purposes. 

 

Any tips? Or does anyone know of any resources? 

[Between Fields]

You should be getting a different form from your university, the 1098-T.

[TheFlyingScholar]

My school does not provide any sort of official document, just a year-end summary with the total fellowship disbursed.  Don't hold your breath waiting for anything!
 

Re: tips, FreeFile should be straightforward if it's your only source of income, though make you sure you know when to use a credit card.

[irie_anthro_]

A related question, is the amount we are getting as stipends pre-tax or post-tax? I mean am I supposed to pay tax from the total amount of stipend I am getting?

[TakeruK]

A related question, is the amount we are getting as stipends pre-tax or post-tax? I mean am I supposed to pay tax from the total amount of stipend I am getting?

 

In almost every case, the number they quote you in your offer is pre-tax, because they have no idea what kind of deductions you may have, and thus what your post-tax income would be. This is the same as any other job offer, when employers offer you a salary, they are talking pre-tax amounts. So you should budget paying about 10%-15% of your stipend in taxes (probably more on the 10% side).

[blue_mango]

A related question, is the amount we are getting as stipends pre-tax or post-tax? I mean am I supposed to pay tax from the total amount of stipend I am getting?

 

If you are an international student, the money you actually receive from your school will likely be 14% less than you expect (because schools usually withhold federal tax automatically from international students, from the portion of the income that is taxable). You should be able to tell if this is the case by looking at your statements and/or asking your school. I'm told federal tax is not automatically withheld from non-international students, and they have to make estimated payments on their own. Whether or not federal taxes are being withheld, you may still need to pay state taxes on top of that, depending on where you are.