The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

Hey guys, I've been having a horrible time trying to figure my taxes out. I think I finally did! I wanted to share some articles that helped me in case they could help anyone else! Good luck!

http://pfforphds.com/prepare-grad-student-tax-return/

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc421

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p505

Thank you. I’m currently trying to plan out how this will work for me next year should I be awarded.

Can I ask you a few questions? My biggest concern is over the self-employment (SE) tax. For a stipend of $25,000, I would end up paying close to $5000 in taxes if I file as independent and almost $8000 if I file as a dependent. For you, were funds reported in box 3 or box 7 of your 1099-MISC? Did you figure out a way to avoid the SE tax?

Thanks!

Yeah, so if you read that first and second article it explains that you just need to file it as a regular income (with some additional information that they explain) and not as self employed. So if you do it the way they explain it you don't have to do the self employment tax!