The Tax Questions Blog

Posts Tagged ‘are stipends taxable income’

Question: Can I claim expenses to lower the taxable amount reported on a 1099?

I am presenting at a museum conference later in August on technology and education. I have a feeling that my stipend will be reported on a 1099... Isn't that heavily taxed as an independent contractor? Annnnd.... If I were to purchase a laptop (easy to justify the need for the intent of workshop), can that be claimed as an expense to lower the taxable remainder as "income?" Thanks for any feedback and advice!

Answer: Travel, meals (at 50%), & lodging, sure.

Laptop, no way. For business use of a laptop you need to apportion between business and personal use. Then you depreciate the business portion. For that trip you MIGHT be able to justify 1% of it's use as business. So, $25 on a $2,500 laptop, depreciated on a 4 year schedule -- $6. But then you convert it back to pure personal use and you have to recapture the depreciation that you took. Net: $0.

If this is a one-off, you can report the payment on line 21 of Form 1040 and the expenses as miscellaneous itemized deductions on Schedule A subject to the 2% floor. That way you skirt the self-employment tax but probably won't be able to deduct any costs as a practical matter. Or you put it on Schedule C, claim all of the expenses against it, and pay the SE tax on Schedule SE.

Student doctors face scholarship tax slug

At least 200 Queensland medical students on Queensland Health scholarships are being forced to pay thousands of dollars in tax.

Question: What is a stipend?

Im going to be doing an internship and they told m;e that i would be recieving a stipend of a sum of money
.is the sum of money taxable?
.do i get the money week to week or after the whole program?
.is this good or bad?

Answer: A fixed and regular payment, such as a salary for services rendered but refers more to an allowance. Yes, it's taxable b/c normally it comes from an employer and the payment depends on the agreement you have with the person paying you. Many people who are in summer internships get a stipend.

Beacon Hill Roll Call

By Bob Katzen THE HOUSE AND SENATE. Last week was slow on Beacon Hill, as the House and Senate met only in brief, informal sessions. There were no roll-call votes. For many years, the Legislature has not scheduled any formal important sessions during the February school vacation week.