@@ -38,13 +38,19 @@ Yes. In my opinion, the easiest and best way to do this to
3838[ set up estimated tax payments] ( https://www.irs.gov/uac/pay-taxes-by-electronic-funds-withdrawal )
3939when you e-file. Your bank account is debited according to whatever
4040estimated tax plan you submit. This is also nice because you do not have to pay
41- the penalty for failing to withhold income[ ^ 4 ] .
41+ the penalty for failing to withhold income[ ^ 4 ] . Make sure to set up payments to
42+ both the IRS and California's Franchise Tax Board. This should be quite easy if
43+ you are setting this up during e-filing.
4244
4345### Can we contribute to a Roth IRA?
4446
4547Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, we cannot. Since the money we make on a
46- 1098t is considered taxable, unearned income it does not qualify for IRA. However,
47- the moment you are switched to a W2, you can contribute up to your earned
48+ 1098t is considered taxable, unearned income it does not qualify for IRA. According
49+ to [ IRS Pub 590-A] ( https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590a.pdf ) (Page 6):
50+
51+ > Scholarship and fellowship payments are compensation for IRA purposes only if shown in box 1 of Form W-2
52+
53+ However, the moment you are switched to a W-2, you can contribute up to your earned
4854income amount or $5500, which ever is smaller.
4955
5056### What is a Roth IRA?
@@ -68,7 +74,9 @@ for more details.
6874[ ^ 1 ] : So YMMV on all this depending on your specific circumstances
6975
7076[ ^ 2 ] : This post was inspired by a presentation by Kyle Barlow at iPQB journal
71- club. Thanks Kyle!
77+ club. Thanks Kyle! Update: After I wrote this piece, I found out that Kyle also
78+ had a blog post about this a couple years ago:
79+ < https://www.kylebarlow.com/dearth-and-taxes.html >
7280
7381[ ^ 3 ] : Naturally, this value will increase if the UCSF graduate student stipend
7482increases. For reference, in my first two years, we made 34K (TY2015) and then
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