Why sign in to the Community?

  • Submit a question
  • Check your notifications
Sign in to the Community or Sign in to TurboTax and start working on your taxes
New Member
posted Jun 5, 2019 10:21:24 PM

I have a 1099-MISC for a research stipend. Do I still have to pay taxes on it after my education deductibles (for 1098-T)? Why?

0 2 2133
2 Replies
New Member
Jun 5, 2019 10:21:25 PM

There are many questions that need to be answered before an accurate answer can be given.  Income from a 1099Misc as a stipend is normally considered earned income because you are receiving money for work performed.  in your case research.  If the 1099 Misc is small enough you might not owe tax anyway.  If there is other income besides the 1099-Misc there may income but the Credit for education expenses from 1098-T might wipe out any tax owed.  There are a lot of variables to consider.  Tony F CPA

Level 15
Jun 5, 2019 10:21:27 PM

You owe income tax because all money you get for almost any reason is income.  You can get tax-free tuition in some cases, but money for living expenses is taxable income.

You may not owe self-employment tax.  SE tax is the equivalent of social security and medicare withholding for self-employed persons.  In most cases, a graduate or postdoctoral fellowship is not considered "earned income" because you are not "working", you are a student getting an education.  (For tax purposes.)

Enter the 1099-MISC in the other income section of Turbotax, do not create a self-employed or small business situation.  After you enter the 1099-MISC there is a page of questions, check the box for "this was a scholarship" and then check the box for "No, I did not perform a service" (you were a student getting an education).  This reports your fellowship as income, you can then deduct your tuition and fees if you paid them from the fellowship.

See this for more, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf

If your income is less than $31,000, you can file using the Tax Freedom edition, which includes complicated forms not normally included in the free version. It's a different web site for contractual reasons. https://turbotax.intuit.com/taxfreedom/


You must create a different account to use TaxFreedom, you can't use your existing turbotax account.  You may also need to clear your browser cache and cookies. https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3491786