Postdoc Fellowship Taxable? How to Avoid Self-Employment Tax on Stipends

Описание: You are a postdoctoral fellow on a training grant like an NIH T32 or F32. You receive a Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC from your university. You plug it into your tax software, and suddenly your refund vanishes, replaced by a massive bill for 15.3% "Self-Employment Tax." You are right to feel confused. You are not a business owner; you are a trainee. You just walked into the "Fellowship Trap."

The IRS computer sees that 1099 and assumes you are running a business, automatically applying FICA taxes. But under the landmark Spiegelman tax court case, true fellowships are NOT subject to this tax. As The Finance Observer, I’ve performed a forensic review of Spiegelman v. Commissioner and the IRS automated CP2000 system to help you fix this. In this video, we dissect the "Quid Pro Quo" test, why your payroll department gets this wrong, and the specific line on Schedule 1 where this income belongs.

FORENSIC BREAKDOWN:

0:00 The "Fellowship Audit": Why the IRS sends a CP2000 Notice for 15.3% tax

00:36 The Mechanism: How the computer mistakes a "Trainee" for a "Business Owner"

01:30 The Law: Quid Pro Quo (Grant vs. Wage) & The Primary Benefit Test

03:16 The Comparison: Employee (W-2) vs. Fellow (Stipend)

04:17 The Shield: Spiegelman v. Commissioner (The "Silver Bullet" Case Law)

05:49 The Trap: Why Form 1099-NEC triggers Schedule C (and why that's wrong)

06:50 The Fix: Reporting on Schedule 1 Line 8r (Scholarships and Fellowships)

07:30 The Defense: How to respond to the CP2000 "Scary Letter"

08:11 The Evidence: Offer Letters, NIH Policy Statements, and the "Non-Employee" highlighter

08:53 The Summary: The "Two-Column" Matrix for Postdocs

DISCLAIMER: I am The Finance Observer. This content is for educational purposes only. Scholarship and fellowship grants are generally taxable income if used for room and board, but they are NOT subject to Self-Employment Tax (Social Security and Medicare) unless the recipient is in the trade or business of performing services (Quid Pro Quo). Spiegelman v. Commissioner (102 T.C. 394) established that postdoctoral fellowships are generally not compensation for services. Always consult a qualified CPA.