Evolving Personal Finance » Entries tagged with "FICA"

Winning a Fight with the IRS

March 9th, 2015 | 14 Comments

Winning a Fight with the IRS

I’m very, very excited about the content I have to share with you today. The story comes from someone who found EPF while searching for resources regarding grad student taxes and how to argue with the IRS. After emailing back and forth a few times about how to approach her problem, she offered to share her research and work with you through EPF. I will refer to this reader as Amanda in this post. Thank … Read entire article »

Filed under: grad school, taxes

Why Is My Take-Home Pay as a Postdoc Nearly the Same as When I Was a Grad Student?

October 20th, 2014 | 19 Comments

Why Is My Take-Home Pay as a Postdoc Nearly the Same as When I Was a Grad Student?

Despite the fact that Kyle got over a 40% raise when he transitioned from grad student to postdoc, his postdoc take-home pay is depressingly similar to his grad student take-home pay. I had heard rumors of this phenomenon but had never quite believed it. The reasons for it are partially generalizable and partially specific to us, but I hope they are illuminating for other people going through this same transition.       Kyle gave me permission to share … Read entire article »

Filed under: grad school, income, taxes

Egg on My Face: Grad Students and Payroll Taxes

January 14th, 2013 | 51 Comments

Egg on My Face: Grad Students and Payroll Taxes

I feel very silly!  Here I am trying to set myself up as a reliable (but not professional!) source for information on the special PF situations graduate students find themselves in, particularly with respect to taxes, and I was overlooking something very obvious for years in my own finances!   This all started when I had a post idea about for what I wish I’d used my 2% payroll tax break (and asking you what you wish … Read entire article »

Filed under: grad school, taxes