There are two broad categories of grad student income: employee income and awarded income. Both types of pay are supposed to be reported in the ‘wages’ line on your tax return, Form 1040 Line 1. Read on for the relevant tax code references.

Where to Report Employee Income

Employee income comes from work and is reported on a Form W-2. Assistantships, whether research, teaching or graduate, provide the grad student with employee income. Postdocs often hold employee positions as well. This type of grad student and postdoc income is the same to the IRS as employee income from other sources.

Your gross yearly employee income will appear in Form W-2 Box 1, and the income tax that has been withheld from you pay will appear in Box 2 (federal), Box 17 (state), and Box 19 (local).

Form W-2 contains instructions for the employee (p. 7):

Where to Report Non-Compensatory Grad Student Income

Non-compensatory income is given as an award and is not in exchange for work. Scholarships and most fellowships are forms of non-compensatory work. Non-compensatory pay will be officially reported to the student on a 1098-T in box 5 or on a 1099-MISC in box 3. It also might be unofficially reported on a courtesy letter or not at all.

Please note that when you calculate the taxable portion of your non-compensatory income for the year, you have two choices for what to do with your qualified education expenses: to take a deduction or a credit.

Scholarship and fellowship income that is reported anywhere other than on a W-2 or not reported at all should also be added to the ‘wages’ line on your tax return alongside the letters SCH.

The Wages Line on the 1040

The 1040 instructions dictate that W-2 income should be reported in line 7 (p. 21):

Publication 970 says that fellowship and scholarship income should be reported in line 7 (p. 7):

The Wages Line on the 1040A

The 1040A instructions dictate that W-2 income should be reported in line 7 (p. 23):

Publication 970 says that fellowship and scholarship income should be reported in line 7 (p. 7):

The Wages Line on the 1040EZ

The 1040EZ instructions dictate that W-2 income should be reported in line 1 (p. 10):

Publication 970 says that fellowship and scholarship income should be reported in line 7 (p. 6):

Parent post: Grad Student Income Tax Guide: 2015 Edition

We at Personal Finance for PhDs are not tax professionals, and none of the content in this section should be taken as advice for tax purposes.