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Postdocs and Taxes

Up to Postdoctoral Life
Information on some of the complicated tax issues postdocs face.


Postdocs and the Law, Part 2: Principal Investigator Versus Individual Grants
by Laure Haak, ScienceCareers.org. "Postdoc job titles and classifications are commonly assigned by institutions based on the source of funding for the postdoc. This decision determines whether or not the postdoc qualifies for health benefits, retirement fund options, and even access to the institutional library. Sherry Queener, associate dean of the Indiana University Graduate School, explains the situation at her university as follows: 'Postdocs typically are divided into at least two categories: employees and trainees. These divisions are often driven by [the] funding mechanism, rather than real differences in the purpose of the training/work. Thus, both categories of postdocs might work side by side on similar problems. Because these two categories of postdocs require different fringe benefits and because they often receive salaries determined by the funding mechanism, the universities are placed in the position of creating inequities, i.e., different pay for the same work.'"
NYU Changes Course (and So Do We)
by Jim Austin, ScienceCareers.org. "We reported last month that IRS regulations and guidance issued in February seemed to require universities to begin withholding FICA (social security tax) and FUTA (unemployment tax) from the paychecks of all postdoctoral fellows—including National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award (NRSA) recipients—starting 1 April. This conclusion was based on our own reading of the new rules and on conversations with deans and other administrators in the biomedical sciences community."
Current and Recent NRSA Postdocs May Be Eligible for Substantial Tax Refunds
Many NRSA fellows are paying thousands of dollars per year in taxes that they may not owe.
Postdocs and the Law, Part 1: Meet the IRS
by Laure Haack, ScienceCareers.org. "Like many other postdocs supported by an individual fellowship, I have struggled to determine whether I was supposed to pay U.S. income taxes and how. Every year around tax time, my fellowship sponsor sent me a photocopy of the same 1994 letter from an independent consulting firm, telling me in no uncertain terms that as a postdoc I was not "self-employed" for tax purposes. The 1099 form I received each year showed my stipend in the "other" box. Beyond this guidance, I was responsible for figuring out whether I owed any tax and on what, and how to list my income on the tax forms."
Postdocs and the Law, Part 3: Are Postdocs Employees?
by Laure Haak, ScienceCareers.org. "Federal policies have a significant impact on the policies and practices of research institutions. So, might there be some kind of 'magic bullet': one or two key policy changes that would significantly improve the postdoctoral experience?"
A Taxing Question on Postdoc Pay: New IRS Regulation Demands Deductions from All Postdocs
by Beryl Benderly, ScienceCareers.org. "Americans generally think of 15 April as tax day, but this year, for certain postdocs, 1 April packs a special wallop from the tax man. Starting on the day traditionally devoted to clowning and practical jokes, many holders of federal fellowships will find themselves caught between two conflicting governmental definitions of their professional status--and suffering the disadvantages of both." Note: this article was later found to be incorrect.