What is a participants tax liability for stipends received during the appointment?
All stipends paid to participants are reported to the Internal Revenue Service, and a 1099 Form is issued to the participant each year at the end of January. Taxes are NOT withheld from the stipend payments. Participants are responsible for paying their own taxes and should consider filing Form 1040-ES to pay estimated taxes. For foreign nationals, the rules are different.
All stipends paid directly to the participant or on her/his behalf are considered taxable by the US Federal government and should be reported annually. Except for some foreign nationals, most participants will have no tax withheld by ORAU from their payments, and should consider filing Form 1040-ES on a quarterly basis and paying estimated Federal income taxes. These participants will receive a Statement of Payments form detailing all taxable payments made to them by ORAU during the relevant tax year.
