Evolving Personal Finance » Entries tagged with "W-2"

DECREASE IN PAY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

August 28th, 2013 | 47 Comments

DECREASE IN PAY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I received an email last week that gave me a bit of a scare!  The subject line included my name and “Pay Decrease.”  When I opened the email, the attachment was titled “DECREASE IN PAY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.”  I kind of freaked out until I read the body of the email, but even after that reassurance I was pissed at the manner they let me know about this change!  Even my advisor agreed that it was “unfortunately … Read entire article »

Filed under: grad school, income

Grad Student Income Tax Site Up!

February 28th, 2013 | 3 Comments

Hi there!  This isn’t a normal posting day for EPF but I am just so excited to share this info with you I had to break the routine!   The grad student income tax website that I’ve been working on for the past few months is now live!  My partner, who works in the student loan office and is a CPA, did most of the writing and compiling and I helped in the research and editing to ensure that it addresses the particular tax challenges that grad students face.   I think this is a great resource for students at our university and across the US.  I hope fellowship recipients find it useful as they are preparing their taxes.   If you have any comments or constructive criticism regarding the information or presentation, please email me … Read entire article »

Filed under: grad school, 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

Tax Lies Told to Graduate Students

October 22nd, 2012 | 38 Comments

Tax Lies Told to Graduate Students

Update February 2016: This short post has been expanded to a 10-part series of common grad student tax lies on Grad Student Finances. Check it out for more detail, explanation, applicability, references, etc.!   My little university community service project for this fall is working with a staff member to compile a comprehensive reference document for graduate students preparing to file their taxes.  The purpose is to help graduate students make sense of the tax-related forms they … Read entire article »

Filed under: grad school, taxes

Can a Net Income Boost Compensate for Not Having Earned Income?

May 2nd, 2012 | 14 Comments

Can a Net Income Boost Compensate for Not Having Earned Income?

Two weeks ago I got a great comment on my Roth IRAs for Graduate Students post from Joe.  He asked   “Why would you want fellowship income to be reported as earned income?  The payroll tax (6.2%+1.45%) that must be withheld from wages … in my opinion, makes the unearned income classification better.”   The payroll tax exception for 1099-MISC income wasn’t something I addressed in the Roth IRA post (although I mentioned it as a perk for some … Read entire article »

Filed under: budgeting, retirement, taxes

Earned Income: The Bane of the Graduate Student’s Roth IRA

March 27th, 2012 | 137 Comments

Earned Income: The Bane of the Graduate Student’s Roth IRA

This is my contribution to The Roth IRA Movement started by Jeff Rose at Good Financial Cents.  The post will briefly touch on the advantages of the Roth IRA account but will focus on how graduate students can determine whether or not they have earned income (now: taxable compensation).  For more posts with greater detail on various aspects of the Roth IRA, please visit the Movement’s page.  Also, I am not a CPA or financial … Read entire article »

Filed under: grad school, retirement