How to properly report an ORISE internship stipend on taxes - not reported as wages?

Publication 970 covers tax benefits for education, but you're right that it's lengthy and can be difficult to navigate. For ORISE stipends specifically, they're typically considered "scholarships or fellowships" for tax purposes, not wages. In TurboTax, you should report this under "Less Common Income" and then select "Scholarships and Grants." Be aware that while ORISE doesn't report this as wages, portions of the stipend used for living expenses (rather than qualified educational expenses) are generally considered taxable income. You won't receive a W-2 or 1099 for this stipend, but you should have received an income letter from ORISE detailing the amount. Use this document to report the income. Save this letter with your tax records in case of questions later.

I went through this exact headache with my ORISE stipend last year! I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) after spending hours trying to figure this out on my own. They have a document analyzer that identified my stipend documentation and told me exactly how to report it. Saved me so much stress trying to interpret all those IRS publications and TurboTax prompts. Their tool confirmed it should go under fellowships/scholarships and broke down which parts were taxable vs non-taxable based on my specific situation. It was so much clearer than the generic advice I found online.

Just wanted to update - I tried taxr.ai after my earlier question and wow, it was incredibly helpful! My ORISE situation was slightly different (part research grant, part stipend) and the tool immediately identified the distinction and walked me through exactly how to categorize each portion in TurboTax. It flagged that $2,800 of my funds were actually for research supplies and shouldn't be taxed, which I would've completely missed. The breakdown they provided made it crystal clear what goes where, and I feel 100% confident in my filing now. Definitely beats trying to interpret Publication 970 on my own!

For anyone dealing with ORISE stipends or similar fellowship issues - if you need to talk to someone at the IRS directly about this (which I eventually had to do), use Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I wasted 3 hours on hold trying to get clarification on how to report my stipend correctly before discovering this service. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c showing how it works. Basically, they call the IRS for you, wait through the hold time, and then call you when an actual human agent is on the line. The IRS rep I spoke with confirmed exactly how to report my stipend and now I have official documentation of their guidance.

I need to apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr. After dealing with complete frustration trying to get IRS guidance on my similar stipend situation, I decided to try it. I was connected with an actual IRS agent in about 40 minutes (while I was just going about my day), and they provided official clarification that my research fellowship should be reported as scholarship income. The agent walked me through exactly where to input everything in TurboTax and even emailed me documentation I can keep with my records. It was legit - the phone number was the official IRS line, and the agent verified my identity just like they always do. Saved me hours of hold music stress!

I think a lot of people don't realize that certain stipends and fellowships are reported differently than regular income. For ORISE specifically, they don't withhold taxes, so you might get hit with a tax bill if you haven't been making estimated payments throughout the year. If your stipend was substantial (over $10k), you might want to check if you need to make an estimated tax payment before filing to avoid underpayment penalties. This caught me off guard my first year with ORISE.

Has anyone actually called ORISE directly? When I was confused about this last year, I just called their participant support center and they emailed me detailed instructions for tax reporting. Saved me tons of time searching through IRS publications.

I went through this exact same situation with my ORISE fellowship two years ago! The key thing to remember is that ORISE stipends are generally considered taxable scholarship/fellowship income, but the specific treatment depends on how you used the funds. Since you mentioned using it for living expenses like rent and groceries, that portion would be taxable. In TurboTax, go to the "Federal Taxes" section, then "Wages & Income," and look for "Less Common Income." From there, select "Scholarships and Fellowships" and enter your stipend amount. One thing that helped me was keeping detailed records of exactly what I spent the stipend on. If any portion went toward qualified educational expenses (books, supplies directly required for your research), those amounts might be excludable from taxable income. Also, since ORISE doesn't withhold taxes, make sure you're prepared for the tax liability. If you haven't been making estimated payments and your total tax owed is significant, you might want to look into payment plan options when you file.

This is such a common source of confusion! I dealt with this exact situation during my ORISE fellowship last year. One thing I found helpful was checking if your stipend letter from ORISE mentions anything about "qualified educational expenses" - sometimes they'll break down what portion (if any) was intended for educational materials vs living expenses. For the TurboTax entry, definitely use the "Scholarships and Fellowships" section under "Less Common Income" as others have mentioned. Just make sure to keep that ORISE stipend letter with your tax records - it's your primary documentation for this income. Also, if you're planning to continue with ORISE next year, consider setting aside about 22-25% of each stipend payment for taxes to avoid a big surprise bill. The lack of withholding can really catch you off guard the first time around!

I'm currently going through ORISE fellowship applications and this thread has been incredibly eye-opening about the tax implications I hadn't considered! Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like the key steps are: 1. Report the stipend under "Scholarships and Fellowships" in TurboTax's "Less Common Income" section 2. The entire amount is likely taxable if used for living expenses (rent, food, etc.) 3. Keep detailed records and your ORISE stipend letter as documentation 4. Set aside 20-25% of each payment for taxes since nothing is withheld One question I have - for those who've been through this process, did you find it helpful to consult with a tax professional for your first year, or were you able to navigate it successfully on your own using TurboTax? I'm trying to decide if the peace of mind is worth the extra cost, especially since this seems like a pretty specific situation that general tax software might not handle perfectly. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world guidance that's so hard to find in official publications!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar situation with my ORISE stipend and was completely lost on how to report it. Based on everyone's guidance, I just successfully entered mine in TurboTax under the "Scholarships and Fellowships" section. One additional tip that might help others - when you're in that section, TurboTax will ask if you received a 1098-T form. Make sure to select "No" since ORISE stipends don't come with that form. Then it will ask about the taxable portion of your scholarship/fellowship, which for most of us using the stipend for living expenses would be the full amount. The process was actually much simpler than I expected once I found the right section. Thanks especially to those who mentioned keeping the ORISE stipend letter - I almost threw mine away thinking it wasn't important!

I just went through this process myself and can confirm that the advice in this thread is spot-on! One thing I'd add that really helped me - if you're using TurboTax Online, there's actually a search function at the top where you can type "fellowship" or "stipend" and it will take you directly to the right section instead of having to navigate through all the menus. Also, for anyone worried about accuracy, TurboTax has a really helpful interview process once you get to the Scholarships and Fellowships section. It walks you through questions like "Was this money used for tuition?" and "Was this for living expenses?" which makes it much clearer how to categorize everything. The most important thing is don't let the complexity scare you into not reporting it at all - that would be much worse than making a small mistake in categorization. The IRS understands that fellowship taxation can be confusing, and as long as you're making a good faith effort to report the income, you'll be fine.

This thread has been a lifesaver! I'm dealing with my first ORISE stipend tax situation and was completely overwhelmed by the lack of clear guidance online. Reading through everyone's experiences has given me so much confidence about how to handle this. I wanted to add one more resource that helped me - the ORISE website actually has a "Tax Information" page under their participant resources section that I initially missed. It's not super detailed, but it does confirm that stipends should be treated as scholarship/fellowship income and provides links to the relevant IRS publications. It's worth checking if you want official confirmation from ORISE themselves. Also, for anyone using tax software other than TurboTax, I used FreeTaxUSA this year and found the fellowship reporting section under "Other Income" → "Miscellaneous Income" → "Scholarships and Fellowships." The process was very similar to what others described with TurboTax. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences - this community support makes navigating these confusing tax situations so much easier!

Reading through all these experiences has been incredibly helpful! I'm currently preparing my taxes with an ORISE stipend from last year and was completely lost until I found this thread. One thing I wanted to add that might help others - if you received multiple stipend payments throughout the year, make sure to add up the total amount from all your ORISE payment letters before entering it into your tax software. I almost made the mistake of only reporting my final payment amount instead of the cumulative total for the year. Also, I noticed that my ORISE stipend letter has a specific statement that says "This payment is not subject to federal tax withholding" - which basically confirms what everyone here has been saying about needing to handle the tax liability ourselves. It's a good reminder to save documentation like this since it clearly explains the tax treatment. For anyone still feeling uncertain, I'd echo what others have said about the TurboTax interview questions being really helpful. They essentially ask you the same questions we've been discussing here (educational expenses vs. living expenses) and guide you to the right tax treatment. The process is much more straightforward than trying to interpret IRS publications on your own!

This entire thread has been incredibly valuable! As someone who just finished my ORISE fellowship and was dreading tax season, reading through everyone's experiences has completely changed my perspective on how manageable this actually is. I want to emphasize something that really stood out to me - the importance of treating this as regular taxable income rather than trying to find some special exemption. I initially spent hours searching for ways to avoid paying taxes on my stipend, but the reality is that if you used it for living expenses (which most of us do), it's taxable income period. Once I accepted that, the process became much simpler. For anyone still working through this, here's my takeaway from this thread: 1) Find "Scholarships and Fellowships" in your tax software's income section, 2) Enter your total stipend amount for the year, 3) Report the full amount as taxable since it went to living expenses, 4) Keep your ORISE documentation, and 5) don't overthink it - the software will guide you through the details. The collective wisdom in this thread is honestly better than anything I found in official publications or help articles. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences - you've made tax season so much less stressful for ORISE fellows!

As someone who went through this exact same confusion with my ORISE stipend, I can definitely relate to the stress you're feeling! The good news is that everyone in this thread has given you spot-on advice - you're definitely on the right track with reporting it under "Scholarships and Fellowships" in TurboTax. One thing that really helped me was realizing that ORISE stipends are actually pretty common, so the IRS is familiar with how they should be reported. Don't let the complexity of Publication 970 intimidate you - most of that document deals with much more complicated educational tax scenarios that don't apply to your situation. Since you mentioned your stipend was $12,500 used primarily for rent and groceries, you'll want to report the full amount as taxable income. The key thing is just being honest about how you used the funds. Keep that ORISE stipend letter safe - it's your main documentation if anyone ever asks questions about this income. You're so close to being done with your taxes! Don't let this one issue derail you when you've got everything else figured out. The "Scholarships and Fellowships" section in TurboTax will walk you through exactly what you need to do.