Grad Student income

[man7103par]

My grandson is a grad student at a major university. He works part time for the 'tax exempt' University. His W2 shows wages but no federal Income tax or social security tax was withheld. How is this income treated?

[JotikaT2]

It depends.

He will have a filing requirement if he makes more than the following amounts in gross income:

• $12,200 for Single
• $24,400 for MFJ
• $5 for MFS
• $18,350 for HOH
• $24,400 for Qualifying widower

Attached are links for additional information, including items on whether he is a dependent or not, and the filing requirements in that situation.

Do I need to file a return

Gross income amount for dependents

[man7103par]

I think, based on some Internet searches, that because the university is tax Exempt, FICA tax did not have to be paid, and none was withheld from his paycheck. I assume that even though no federal tax was withheld, he must report the wages he earned as a grad student working for the university. Is that correct? It was confusing because the W2 from the University only had his wages listed and no withholding of FICA or Income  tax.

[Hal_Al]

That is correct, student employees of colleges are exempt from FICA, but not income tax.  So, he just enters it like an ordinary W-2.  TurboTax will not be confused because boxes 3,4,5 & 6 are blank.  The fact that box 2 is blank or 0  is probably because his income is low and no income tax was expected (or just because of how he filled out his w-4.