For tax purposes payments to individuals at Syracuse University fall into two basic categories. Payments for which no past, present or future services are required to be performed by the recipient. Payments which do require past, present, or future services to be performed by the recipient. A qualified scholarship or fellowship grant is tax free only if the recipient is a candidate for a degree at an educational institution. Qualified scholarship and fellowship grants are amounts paid for tuition and fees required to enroll in, or to attend an educational institution, or fees, books, supplies, and equipment that are required for the courses at the educational institution.
Amounts paid for incidental expenses are taxable.
Incidental expenses include expense for room and board, travel, research, clerical help, equipment, and other items not required for either enrollment or attendance at an educational institution, or in a course of instruction at the educational institution. By law, the grantor of scholarships and fellowships to United States Citizens and Permanent Residents of the United States is not required to report these payments to the Internal Revenue Service or to the recipient. Likewise, there is no tax withholding required. Nonresident Aliens Nonresident Aliens must have a Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number in order to receive a scholarship or fellowship from Syracuse University. Regardless of how a scholarship or fellowship payment is spent by the recipient, these type of payments are financial aid expenses to the University.