Payments on behalf of Students within the University of Illinois System

Some units have funds used to pay students for participating in recruitment, public service, STEM promotion, or other activities that involve participant support costs. Though not related to employment services, these payments are taxable income to the recipient. The Banner account code used to pay participant costs is generally 149110. Policy reference: 8.6.12 Participant Support Costs.

Participant Support Costs paid to U.S. citizen and resident alien students are reported by University Payables (UPAY) to the IRS and the recipient on Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income. Participant Support Costs paid to non-resident aliens are reported by University Payroll and Benefits (UPB) to the IRS on Form 1042-S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding.

A Social Security Number (SSN) is required for IRS Form 1099-MISC reporting. Therefore, payment of Participant Support Costs will be suspended if no valid SSN record exists in Banner. Before submitting payment requests, units are strongly encouraged to check Banner form SPAIDEN for asterisks in the SSN field and to instruct recipients whose SSN field is blank to present documentation of their SSN to their Registrar’s Office.

U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Resident Aliens for tax purposes (Resident Aliens):
Payments designated as Participation Support Costs are processed via Chrome River using the Participant Cost account code, including a comprehensive description with supporting documentation. When paying participant travel, use Participant Cost Other account code or non-employee travel, as directed by the funding source.

Nonresident Aliens – Please refer to Foreign National Payments Resource Page for processing information, job aids and training materials.

Recipients of student prizes or awards are typically selected through a contest, drawing, or competition. Students may also be selected in recognition of charitable, scientific, educational, artistic, literary, or civic achievements.

Restrictions are typically not imposed on how a student can use prizes or awards. Thus, student prizes and awards are not restricted to educational purposes.

If the funding source of the student prize or award is a gift or endowment income fund, then the donor may set the criteria for recipient selection but may not select the actual recipient(s).

It is important to distinguish student prizes and awards from other types of payments to ensure proper financial statement reporting and compliance with the applicable Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reporting and withholding rules. Common examples of payments that are not student prizes and awards include:

• Wages and other payments for employment services. These payments must be process through University Payroll and Benefits (UPB).
  • See details at Payroll Transaction Processing.
• Scholarships, Fellowships and Educational Assistance Grants that are required to be used for:
  • Educational expenses
  • Travel which primarily benefits the student’s education
  • Research activities that primarily benefits the student’s education
  • Room and board
  • See details at Scholarships, Fellowships and Educational Assistance Grants

Prizes and awards are reported to the IRS and the recipient on Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, by University Payables (UPAY). A SSN is required for IRS Form 1099-MISC reporting. Therefore, payment of prizes and awards will be suspended if no valid SSN record exists in Banner. Before submitting prize and award requests, units are strongly encouraged to check Banner form SPAIDEN for asterisks in the SSN field and to instruct recipients whose SSN field is blank to present documentation of their SSN to their Registrar’s Office.

Note: the IRS imposes different tax requirements for Nonresident Alien recipients of prizes and awards; for details please visit Award, Prize and Human Subject Payments.

Prizes and awards are reported to the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) and considered a resource when determining the student's financial aid eligibility. Therefore, these payments may have an impact on the type and amount of financial aid the student is eligible to receive.

OSFA will make the necessary adjustments to the student’s financial aid upon notification of the payments. These adjustments may create or increase a balance due on the student’s university account. Students are encouraged to view their Financial Aid Award letter and their billing statement periodically throughout the semester.

The University of Illinois System's reporting responsibility with respect to Federal Student Aid (FSA) and any other financial assistance received by students is outlined in the FSA Administrative & Related Requirements (Chapter 3), specifically pages 2-33, "Coordinating Official".

U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Resident Aliens for tax purposes (Resident Aliens)

Prizes and awards paid to U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Resident Alien students are disbursed to the student's university account and will be applied to any outstanding charges on the student’s account unless the student or unit emails aroperations@uillinois.edu to request the prize or award be refunded to the student.

• UIC and UIS
  Process Prize and Award payments using the Student Account Payment Request Form.

• UIUC

  • Process prize and award payments through the DAWS system. Information on how to access the DAWS application is available at http://osfa.illinois.edu/resources/departmental-award-web-system-daws

Please refer to Foreign National Payments Resource Page for job aids and training materials.

To ensure compliance with fund accounting and financial reporting requirements and any other applicable guidelines (such as donor intent), student prizes and awards should typically be recorded to Banner using:

• Account code 181700 (Student Prizes and Awards) and
• A program code rolling up to the 1789 (Student Prizes and Awards) NACUBO function.

In addition, if the student prize or award is recorded to a Banner gift or endowment income fund, then it must comply with the donor’s intent.

U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Resident Aliens for tax purposes (Resident Aliens)

For gift cards or gift certificates presented to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and resident aliens equal to or greater than $200, the notification must be emailed to University Payables and the recipient’s campus Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA).

For gift cards or gift certificates presented to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and resident aliens less than $200, the notification must be emailed to the recipient’s campus Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA).

For security purposes, this information is sent using the Protected Email Attachment Application (PEAR) system. The PEAR email must include the dollar value, along with the student's name, UIN, address, and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). If unfamiliar with PEAR, consult the AITS PEAR Resource Page. Send the email to UPAY as well as the appropriate Financial Aid email listed below:
 

• UPAY1099.PearApplication.aits.uillinois.edu (University Payables)
• money@uic.edu (UIC OSFA)
• medicinefinaid@uic.edu (UIC College of Medicine OSFA)
• law-finaid@uic.edu (UIC Law)
• finaid@uis.edu (UIS OSFA)
• finaidscholarships@illinois.edu (UIUC OSFA)

For additional information, see Tax Implications for Payments.

Nonresident Aliens

Gift cards or gift certificates presented to nonresident alien students are taxable, regardless of the amount. Therefore, whenever possible, process gifts to nonresident aliens as a prize or award using the Foreign National Payment e-Form, not as a gift card. If a gift card must be presented, report the gift amount on the Foreign National Payment e-Form together with the required documents for tax reporting purposes, especially the W-8BEN. Please refer to Foreign National Payments Resource Page for additional information.

When offering a prize or award to a student, units are strongly encouraged to provide the following information to the recipient:

• All prizes and awards are considered a resource when determining the student's eligibility for financial aid. Therefore, they are reported to the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA), and may have an impact on the type and amount of financial aid the student receives. OSFA will make the necessary adjustment to the student’s financial aid award upon notification of the prize or award. This adjustment may create or increase a balance due on the student’s U of I System account. The student is responsible for reviewing her/his Financial Aid Award letter and student account billing statement after the prize or award has been paid in order to understand the impact of the payment.

• All prizes and awards paid to U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Resident Aliens are taxable income and reported to the IRS and the student on Form 1099-MISC. A SSN is required for IRS Form 1099-MISC reporting, so payment of the prize or award will be suspended if no valid SSN record exists in Banner. Students whose SSN field in Banner is blank must present documentation of their SSN to the Office of the Registrar.

• All prizes and awards are disbursed to the student's university account and applied to any outstanding charges on the student’s university account unless the student or unit emails aroperations@uillinois.edu to request the prize or award be refunded to the student; the student must be enrolled in direct deposit to receive the refund.

Please see sample email template to send students who are U.S. Citizens or Resident Aliens for tax purposes, when offering them a prize or award.

Please see sample email template to send students who are nonesident aliens for tax purposes, when offering them a prize or award.

Many units have funds that may be used to pay student research and travel expenses. Before paying a student’s research and travel expenses, the unit must determine and document whether and why the student or the University of Illinois System is primary beneficiary of the payment.

When the U of I System and the student seem to derive equal benefit, units are strongly encouraged to designate the student as primary beneficiary.

• Student as Primary Beneficiary

  • Doctoral Dissertation Research Grants – The U of I System has determined that students are the primary beneficiaries of Doctoral Dissertation Research Grants such as the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (DDRIG), even though the system also receives significant benefit from these grants.

  • Research Traineeships – Research Training Grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), graduate research fellowships funded by the American Heart Association (AHA), and other research training grants are educational grants, so the student recipients are primary beneficiary of these payments. Trainees must fulfill the research and teaching requirements as detailed by the grantors, but trainees do not perform services as student or system employees.

  • Scholarship/Fellowship Funds – When the source of research or travel payments is a fund designated for scholarships or fellowships, the student is primary beneficiary.

• U of I System as Primary Beneficiary

  • Example A: A student is asked to travel to a conference held in San Francisco to present a paper on behalf of a U of I System's department.

  • Example B: A student travels to Germany to perform research for the U of I System, which happens to be the same topic related to student B’s dissertation. The U of I System would perform research on this topic regardless of student B’s dissertation topic.

  • Example C: A student is asked to travel to New York City to represent the U of I System in a Scholastic Bowl competition (in this example, the student is not required to be employed by the unit paying for the travel).

  • Example D: A student submits a travel proposal in which the U of I System’s business purpose is effectively described, receives departmental approval that requires a clearly stated deliverable upon the student’s return, and the student presents that deliverable to the department’s satisfaction.

  • Example E: A student is asked to attend a conference or training that will enhance their knowledge and skills to effectively perform their university employment duties (e.g. student Orientation Leader).

Fellowships, scholarships, or grants paid directly to students for research experience programs are processed as fellowships as the student is the primary beneficiary. See Scholarships, Fellowships and Educational Assistance Grants for information on how to process. Example programs include:

• Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

• Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP)

• Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF)

• Summer Pre-Doctoral Institute (SPI)

• Research Experience and Mentoring (REM)

• Undergraduate Research and Mentoring (URM)

Payments made on behalf of students for travel, research, and related expenses who participate in these programs are processed through Chrome River as the U of I System is primary beneficiary of travel and research related payments.

For fellowship payments to research experience/opportunity participants who are enrolled in the U of I System during the semester in which payment is made, the program code should roll up to NACUBO function 1788 (“Fellowships”).

For fellowship payments to research experience/opportunity participants who are not enrolled in the U of I System during the semester in which payment is made, the program code should roll up to either NACUBO function 1100 (“Research”) when participants are engaged in official U of I System research activity, or to NACUBO function 1000 (“Instruction”) when participants are engaged in simulated research activity.

Research Experience/Opportunity

UIUC – When paying UIUC students directly for participating in programs such as Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP), Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF), Summer Pre-Doctoral Institute (SPI), Research Experience and Mentoring (REM), Undergraduate Research and Mentoring, etc.):

• Download the payment form, complete and upload it on the Graduate College REU Programs webpage to process a Research Experience/Opportunity fellowship payment;

• Units are strongly encouraged to include amounts for living expenses and travel in the fellowship paid directly to the student; however, when this is not feasible, payment must be processed via Chrome River including a clear and comprehensive description with supporting documentation of the U of I System business purpose and benefit.

Student as Primary Beneficiary

U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Resident Aliens for tax purposes (Resident Aliens):

When paying U.S. Citizen and Resident Alien students for research and travel expenses that primarily benefit the student, these payments must be paid as a scholarship, fellowship or grant (see Scholarships, Fellowships and Educational Assistance Grants). The only exceptions to this rule are:

• Research expenses for human subject payments
• Wages paid to student workers
• Purchases of the U of I System property or equipment that retains functional value after the student’s research is complete and remains in the U of I System’s possession

Payments for these exceptions are submitted through Chrome River, iBuy, or University Payroll and Benefits (UPB) for student worker wages.

When paying U.S. Citizen and Resident Alien students for research and travel expenses that primarily benefit the student, units must be aware of the following requirements:

• When making research and travel payments from sponsored research funds, receipts documenting the full amount of the expenses must be forwarded to Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) Post-Award for UIUC students, or Grants & Contracts (GCO) for UIC and UIS students; sponsor funded travel and research expense payments may be delayed or reversed until or unless SPA Post-Award or GCO receives all necessary receipts.
• Research and travel expenses are not generally part of the student’s standard Cost of Attendance (COA) as established by OSFA in accordance with U.S. Department of Education (ED) guidelines; therefore, to minimize the risk of a travel or research scholarship or fellowship reducing the student’s eligibility for other financial aid, the unit must notify OSFA that the scholarship or fellowship is for travel or research expenses that exceed COA, and provide OSFA with a description of the expenses being covered by the scholarship or fellowship.
• Research and travel scholarships or fellowships are disbursed to the student's university account and will be applied to any outstanding balance on the student’s account unless he student or unit emails aroperations@uillinois.edu to request the scholarship or fellowship be refunded by direct deposited into the student’s bank account to pay the student’s travel or research expenses.
• Upon notifying students of scholarships and fellowships, units should inform the students that the scholarship or fellowship will be disbursed to the student’s university account, that it may impact the student’s other financial aid, and that the U of I System will report it to the IRS on Form 1098-T. If the unit requests aroperations@uillinois.edu to refund any scholarships or fellowships to students, the unit must also inform those students that they may still owe an outstanding balance on their student account which must be paid by the due date to prevent a financial hold of registration and transcripts.

Nonresident Aliens – When paying Nonresident Alien students for research and travel expenses that primarily benefit the student, please refer to Foreign National Payments Resource Page for job aids and training materials.

U of I System as Primary Beneficiary

When paying students for research and travel expenses that primarily benefit the U of I System, payments must be processed via Chrome River including a clear and comprehensive description with supporting documentation of the U of I System business purpose and benefit. Research and travel payments that primarily benefit the U of I System are not reportable to the IRS as taxable income. All U of I System policies and procedures apply to these payments, including the requirement that payment or reimbursement requests be entered in Chrome River within 60 days of the date the expenditure was incurred, to avoid being reported to the IRS as taxable income. The unit is responsible for documenting why the U of I System is primary beneficiary, and retaining this documentation for audit purposes.

As defined in IRS Publication 970 Tax Benefits for Education, scholarships, fellowships, educational assistance, and research grants are amounts paid to, or for the benefit of a student (whether an undergraduate, graduate, or professional student) at an educational institution to aid in the pursuit of their studies or related research. These payments typically support educational needs, such as tuition, fees, room, board, supplies, and travel where the primary purpose of the payment is to benefit the student’s education, academic development, or research. No past, present or future services that further the University of Illinois System’s mission are expected from the student in return for these payments, nor are students expected to repay the System for these scholarships, fellowships, educational assistance, and research grants.

Scholarships, fellowships and educational assistance grants designated for qualified expenses (i.e., tuition and mandatory fees, books, or supplies) are not taxable income to the recipient. However, scholarship, fellowship and grant payments for unqualified expenses (e.g., room, board, travel, research, non-mandatory fees, books or supplies) are taxable income to the recipient. It is the student’s responsibility to determine and report to the IRS taxable scholarships, fellowships and/or grants received.

Scholarship and grant recipients may be undergraduate, graduate or professional program students; fellowships are typically paid to graduate students, though there are exceptions (e.g., see Research Experience/Opportunity funds in the Research and Travel Payments section). If the scholarship, fellowship or educational assistance grant is funded by a gift, the donor may set the criteria for recipient selection but may not select the actual recipient(s).

• For scholarships, the Banner account code generally used is 181100, and the program code should generally roll up to NACUBO function 1787.

• For fellowships, the Banner account code used for educational expenses is 181300, the Banner account code used to pay living expenses is 281300, and the program code should generally roll up to NACUBO function 1788.

All scholarships, fellowships and grants paid to U.S. Citizen and Resident Alien students are reported to the IRS and the recipient on Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement, by University Bursar. A Social Security Number (SSN) is required for IRS Form 1098-T reporting. See IRS Publication 970 Tax Benefits For Education for additional information regarding taxability of these payments.

Scholarships, fellowships and grants paid to Nonresident Alien students are not reported on Form 1098-T unless the student requests University Bursar to do so. However, with the exception of qualified scholarships, qualified fellowships, and W-2 reportable wages, all payments to Nonresident Alien students are reported to the IRS and the recipient on Form 1042-S, Foreign Person’s U.S. Source Income Subject to Withholding, by University Payroll and Benefits (UPB). Withholding may be required on these payments. For additional information, see Payments to Foreign Nationals.

All scholarships, fellowships and grants are reported to the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) and considered a resource when determining the student's financial aid eligibility. Therefore, these payments may have an impact on the type and amount of financial aid the student is eligible to receive.

OSFA will make the necessary adjustments to the student’s financial aid upon notification of the payments. These adjustments may create or increase a balance due on the student’s university account. Students are encouraged to view their Financial Aid Award letter and their billing statement periodically throughout the semester.

The university’s reporting responsibility with respect to Federal Student Aid (FSA) and any other financial assistance received by students is outlined in the FSA Administrative & Related Requirements (Chapter 3), specifically page 2-33, "Coordinating Official".

Preliminary notes regarding scholarships, fellowships and grants designated for student travel, research or emergency expenses:

• When paying scholarships or fellowships from sponsored research funds, units must forward to Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) Post-Award for UIUC students, or Grants & Contracts (GCO) for UIC and UIS students; sponsor funded travel and research expense payments may be delayed or reversed until or unless SPA Post-Award or GCO receives all necessary receipts.

• Because travel, research or emergency expenses are generally not part of the student’s standard Cost of Attendance (COA) as established by OSFA in accordance with ED guidelines, units must notify OSFA that the scholarship, fellowship or grant is for travel, research or emergency expenses that exceed COA, and provide a description of the expenses being covered by the scholarship, fellowship or grant. This will minimize the risk of the scholarship, fellowship or grant reducing other financial aid the student received.

• Because scholarships, fellowships or grants designated for travel, research or emergency expenses are disbursed to the student's university account, they will be applied to any outstanding charges on the student’s university account unless the student or unit emails aroperations@uillinois.edu to request the disbursement be refunded to pay the student’s travel, research or emergency expenses.

U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Resident Aliens for tax purposes (Resident Aliens):

• UIC and UIS

  • Process non-recurring scholarships and fellowships for educational expenses payments (i.e. payments to less than 10 students that are tied to a C-FOAP that is valid for only one academic year) using the Student Account Payment Request Form

  • Process non-recurring scholarships and fellowships for educational expenses payments to 10 or more students through the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA)

  • Process recurring scholarships and fellowships for educational expenses payments (i.e. payments tied to a C-FOAP that will remain the same year after year) through OSFA

  • Process fellowships for living expenses through the Graduate College (UIC) or Graduate Studies Office (UIS); payment will be issued by University Payroll and Benefits (UPB)

  • Process travel payment scholarships through OSFA; include an email to the applicable address below, noting that the scholarship is for travel expenses that exceed standard Cost of Attendance (COA) as established by OSFA in accordance with ED guidelines, and provide a description of the expenses covered by the travel scholarship. This will minimize the risk of the scholarship reducing other financial aid

    • money@uic.edu (UIC OSFA), Subject line: “OSFA Departmental Payment-Travel Expenses”

    • medicinefinaid@uic.edu (UIC College of Medicine OSFA)

    • finaid@uis.edu (UIS OSFA)

• UIUC

  • Process scholarships and fellowships for educational expenses payments using the DAWS system. Information on how to access the DAWS application is available at  Departmental Award Web System (DAWS) webpage.

  • Process fellowships for living expenses through the Graduate Fellowship Office; payment will be issued by University Payroll and Benefits (UPB)

  • Process travel and research payment scholarships through the DAWS system; send an email to finaidscholarships@illinois.edu, noting that the scholarship is for travel expenses that exceed standard Cost of Attendance (COA) as established by OSFA in accordance with ED guidelines, and provide a description of the expenses covered by the travel Scholarship. This will minimize the risk of the scholarship reducing other financial aid.

  • Process Research Experience/Opportunity payments from programs such as Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP), Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (SURF), Summer Pre-Doctoral Institute (SPI), Research Experience and Mentoring (REM), Undergraduate Research and Mentoring (URM), etc. as follows:

    • Download the payment form, complete and upload it on the Graduate College REU Programs webpage to process the REU Fellowship payment

Nonresident Aliens – Please refer to Foreign National Payments Resource Page for job aids and training materials.

When offering a scholarship, fellowship or grant to a student, units are strongly encouraged to provide the following information to the recipient:

• All scholarships, fellowships and grants are considered a resource when determining the student's eligibility for financial aid. Therefore, they are reported to the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA), and may have an impact on the type and amount of financial aid the student receives. OSFA will make the necessary adjustment to the student’s financial aid award upon notification of the scholarship, fellowship or grant. This adjustment may create or increase a balance due on the student’s university account. The student is responsible for reviewing her/his Financial Aid Award letter and student account billing statement after the scholarship, fellowship or grant has been paid in order to understand the impact of the payment.

• All scholarships, fellowships and grants paid to U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Resident Aliens will be reported to the student and the IRS on Form 1098-T for the calendar year in which the payment was made. The University of Illinois System does not report Form 1098-T for Nonresident Aliens unless requested.

• Scholarships, fellowships and grants for unqualified expenses, i.e. room, board, travel, research, non-mandatory fees, books or supplies, are taxable income (refer student to IRS Publication 970). It is the student’s responsibility to determine and report to the IRS taxable scholarships, fellowships and/or grants received.

• When scholarships, fellowships or grants designated for travel, research or emergency expenses are disbursed to the student’s university account, they may be direct deposited to the student’s bank account if the student is enrolled in direct deposit and the student or unit emails aroperations@uillinois.edu to request disbursement be refunded to pay the student’s travel, research or emergency expenses.

Please see sample email template to send to students who are U.S. Citizens or Resident Aliens for tax purposes, when offering them a scholarship, fellowship or grant.

Please see sample email template to send to students who are nonresident aliens for tax purposes, when offering them a scholarship, fellowship or grant.

All tuition and fee waivers paid to students who are not University of Illinois employees are processed through the Financial Aid Office. For payment of tuition and fee waivers to University of Illinois employees, see Tuition and Fees: Waivers, Departmental Payments, and Reimbursements.

For information about the taxability of tuition and fees waivers, please go to University Payroll & Benefits (UPB).

U.S. Citizens, Permanent Residents, and Resident Aliens for tax purposes (Resident Aliens)

• UIC
  For information about processing tuition and fee waivers for UIC graduate and undergraduate students, please contact money@uic.edu or 312-996-5563. For information about processing tuition and fee waivers for UIC medical students, please contact medicinefinaid@uic.edu or 312-413-0127

• UIS
  For information about processing tuition and fee waivers for UIS students, please contact finaid@uis.edu or 217-206-6724

• UIUC
  For information about processing tuition and fee waivers for UIUC students, please contact finaidwaivers@illinois.edu or 217-333-0100

Nonresident Aliens - Please refer to Foreign National Payments Resource Page for job aids and training materials.