How to report Fellowship income in TurboTax without tax forms or W-2?

Fellowship income can be tricky! In TurboTax, you'll need to report this as "Other Income" since you don't have a W-2 or 1099. Go to the Federal section, then look for "Income & Expenses" or "Less Common Income." Find the section for "Other Income" or sometimes "Miscellaneous Income." There should be a specific option for scholarships and fellowships that weren't reported on a tax form. Remember that while tuition, fees, and required books are typically tax-free, your stipend portion (the money for living expenses) is taxable income. You'll just need that total amount from your university's email. When you amend, make sure you're only paying tax on the stipend portion, not the tuition/fee payments that went directly to the school. Those are usually tax-free if you're in a degree program. For your quarterly payments going forward, that's a smart move. Use Form 1040-ES to calculate and submit those.

After struggling with the exact same issue during my first year of grad school, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it completely simplified everything! It's specifically designed to handle academic situations like fellowships and research grants that most tax software gets confused about. The reason TurboTax reps were confused is because they rarely deal with academic fellowships. With taxr.ai, you just upload your fellowship letter or email and it automatically categorizes everything correctly - separating the taxable stipend from the non-taxable tuition and fees. It even handles the quarterly estimated payments going forward. I was about to pay an accountant $300 to figure this out before someone in my department told me about this. For your amendment, it'll show you exactly where everything needs to go.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai from the recommendation above. It totally worked for my situation! I uploaded my fellowship letter and the emails showing payment and it correctly identified what was taxable vs non-taxable. For my amendment, it gave me step-by-step instructions for exactly where to report everything in TurboTax. The most helpful part was that it explained WHY certain parts of my fellowship were taxable while others weren't, which no one at either my university or H&R Block could properly explain. Apparently, the qualified scholarship rules can make the tuition/fee portions tax-free, but the stipend is always taxable. It also helped me set up my quarterly estimated payments for next year which I didn't even realize I needed to do. Definitely saving me from another amendment situation next year!

If you're still having trouble getting clear answers from TurboTax support, I'd recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get direct help from the IRS. They have a specific department for academic income issues. I tried calling the IRS for weeks about my fellowship situation but kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. With Claimyr, I was connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes who specialized in education-related income. They walked me through exactly how to report my fellowship and which forms I needed for my amendment. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent confirmed that fellowship stipends go under "Other Income" with the description "Fellowship" and explained what documentation I needed to keep in case of audit. Way more helpful than TurboTax support who seemed totally confused by fellowships.

I need to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After being skeptical (see my comment above), I decided to try it anyway since I was desperate for answers about my fellowship situation. It actually worked exactly as described. Their system waited on hold for about 45 minutes (which I didn't have to do), then I got a call connecting me to an IRS tax specialist. The agent confirmed that my fellowship stipend should be reported on line 8 of Schedule 1 as "Other Income" with "Fellowship" in the description field. They also explained that I needed to file Form 8863 to see if I qualified for education credits despite having a fellowship. For anyone amending a return with fellowship income, the agent said to be very clear on Form 1040-X about the reason for amendment being "Reporting previously omitted fellowship income" to avoid triggering unnecessary reviews. Definitely worth it when TurboTax support has no clue how to handle fellowship income!

Your university's financial aid or bursar's office should be able to give you a detailed breakdown of your fellowship for tax purposes. Mine initially didn't, but when I specifically asked for a "tax breakdown letter" separating qualified education expenses (tuition, fees, books) from the stipend portion, they provided it within a day. Some universities even have tax workshops specifically for grad students on fellowships - might be worth checking if yours offers something similar. Ours brought in a CPA who specializes in academic situations.

I'm in the exact same situation and just wanted to add something important - if your fellowship includes money for research expenses or travel to conferences, that portion might be treated differently too. My university initially lumped everything together, but the research/travel portion isn't personal income if you have to use it for academic purposes.

I went through this exact situation last year and learned a few hard lessons that might help you avoid my mistakes. First, when you amend your return, make sure you also calculate and pay any penalties for late payment since the IRS considers fellowship income as earned throughout the year, not just when you file. For entering it in TurboTax, go to Federal > Income & Expenses > Less Common Income > Other Reportable Income. Look for "Other Income Types" and select "Other Income Not Already Reported." Enter your fellowship stipend amount and put "Fellowship" in the description field. One thing nobody mentioned yet - if your fellowship is over $600 and you didn't receive a 1099, you technically should file Form 1099-MISC for yourself (weird, I know). Not everyone does this, but it's technically required. Also, don't forget that you'll owe self-employment tax on the fellowship income since it's not subject to payroll taxes. The quarterly estimated payments you're planning are smart, but calculate them based on your total expected tax liability, not just the fellowship portion. Use Form 1040-ES and remember the safe harbor rule - if you pay 100% of last year's tax liability through quarterlies, you won't owe penalties even if you end up owing more.

I went through this exact same situation during my first year of grad school! You're definitely not alone in being confused - fellowship income is one of those weird tax situations that most software and support staff don't handle well. For TurboTax specifically, here's what worked for me: Go to Federal > Income & Expenses > Less Common Income, then look for "Other Income" or "Miscellaneous Income." There should be an option for scholarship/fellowship income that wasn't reported on a tax form. Enter just the stipend portion (living expenses) as taxable income - not the tuition or fees that went directly to the school. One tip that saved me a lot of headache: contact your graduate school's financial aid office and ask for a "fellowship tax allocation letter." They can break down exactly what portion went to qualified education expenses (tuition, fees, required books) versus your taxable stipend. Most schools can provide this even if they don't automatically issue tax forms. Also, you're absolutely right to plan quarterly payments for 2024! Fellowship recipients are technically considered self-employed for estimated tax purposes, so you'll want to use Form 1040-ES to calculate those payments. It's much easier than dealing with amendments later. The good news is that fellowship stipends are only subject to regular income tax, not self-employment tax, so at least you don't have to worry about that additional 15.3%!