my taxes

[gustavolacerda]

I file taxes as a Resident Alien, which makes my tax situation pretty much identical to most American PhD students at Columbia. And yet, because of legal liability, the only qualified people who are willing to give us advice are tax professionals (whose time will cost at least $100

Comments

[gwillen]

Doesn't the university have to provide you with some sort of paperwork for your stipend checks so you don't have to add them up by hand? (1099 or W-2?)

EDIT: Indeed, your link claims they are obligated to report it on form W-2.

[bhudson]

You normally don't need to declare under $10 in interest income, that's why you didn't get a 1099.

If your stipend is taxable, Columbia fucked up big-time by not withholding. Check with them. Normally you pay federal income tax only on the portion of your stipend that isn't going to pay for university tuition and fees -- but you get a W-2 for it.

[roseandsigil]

"My scholarship exactly cancels out tuition+fees. This means I don't need to look at the 1098-T, even though the university is obligated to send it to me. I think this form concerns the university's taxes wrt me, not my taxes."

I believe when I paid taxes on this situation, I filled out the tuition and 1098 on the correct form and did the math (which comes to 0*).

*OK it came out to like $100 for me because the scholarship didn't cover some fees or something.