Accounting & Budget Services
Student Prizes
Tax Implications

Federal (United States) Tax Implications & General Information - Student Prizes

United States Citizen

International Student (citizen of another country)

Federal tax implications of student prizes for students who are United States citizens:

The University of Puget Sound awards monetary prizes to students for academic achievement under the following programs:

Apple Physical Therapy Award
Esther Wagner Fiction Prize
Gordon D. Alcorn Award
Handy Poetry Prize
Heuston Literary Prize
Joseph Peyton Achievement Award
John P. Dickson Scholars for Social Responsibility
Langbauer Award
Norton Clapp Arete Award- (ASUPS recognition award)
Outstanding TA Awards
Robert G. Albertson Award
Roberta Wilson Oustanding Graduate Award
Roderick MacArthur Senior Thesis Presentation Award
SBL Writing Awards
Writing Excellence Award (Hearst Endowment for Writing)

Congratulations on your prize. Your prize may be includable in your gross income for federal tax purposes. It will be reported to you and the IRS on Form 1099-MISC if the combined dollar amount of 1099-MISC reportable income that you receive from the University of Puget Sound is $600 or more this year. The university issues 1099-MISC tax forms in January following the applicable calendar year.

The university is not in the position to offer specific tax advice, however we hope you will find the following general information helpful. You may wish to seek actual advice from a tax professional that is specific to your own tax status.

In general, prizes are reported on Line 21 Other Income of IRS Form 1040 U.S. Individual Tax Return. Prizes normally may not be included in earned income for purposes of determining the standard deduction allowed if an individual can be claimed as a dependent on another's tax return. Because this prize was not for services performed, it should not be considered income from self-employment and should not be subject to self-employment tax.

You may find the following IRS forms, instructions, and publications helpful:

Form 1040 Individual Tax Return and Instructions
Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income

These publications may be downloaded from the IRS Forms and Publications website located at http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html

If you have questions about the information provide above, please contact one of the following individuals in the Accounting & Budget Services Office:

Stefanie Lund, Senior Accountant & Analyst
E-mail address: slund@ups.edu
Telephone: 253-879-8619 (on campus extension 8619)

Barbara Goucher, Accounting Operations Coordinator
E-mail address: bgoucher@ups.edu
Telephone: 253-879-3223 (on campus extension 3223)

Janet Hallman, Associate Vice President for Accounting & Budget Services
E-mail address: jhallman@ups.edu
Telephone: 253-879-8620 (on campus extension 8620)

United States (federal) tax implications of student prizes for international students who are citizens of another country:

The University of Puget Sound awards monetary prizes to students for academic achievement under the following programs:

Apple Physical Therapy Award
Langbauer Award
Writing Excellence Award-(Hearst Endowment for Writing)
Handy Poetry Prize
Roderick MacArthur Senior Thesis Presentation Award
Norton Clapp Arete Award- (ASUPS recognition award)

Congratulations on your prize. Your prize may be subject to United States (federal) income. This will depend, in part, upon the existence or absence of a tax treaty between your home country (the country where you hold citizenship) and the United States.

If your prize is exempt from United States income tax under a tax treaty, you will need to make sure that you have filed the proper IRS exemption form with the university. If you do not file the exemption form or your home country does not have a tax treaty with the United States, the university may be required to withhold (deduct) United States (federal) income tax from your prize. You also need to make sure you have obtained a United States Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).

Please contact one of the following individuals in the Accounting & Budget Services Office for assistance with the United States income tax requirements related to your student prize: