(and Understand It, Too!)
Dr. Emily Roberts
Did you know that postbac non-employees frequently underpay or overpay their true tax liability, sometimes by hundreds or thousands of dollars?
- Tax software is designed for ease of use for employees, college students, and self-employed people, not postbac fellows. It takes a great deal of prior knowledge to properly enter your info to tax software; it is not intuitive for our population.
- Tax preparers frequently mishandle fellowship income. I have heard a multitude of horror stories about this—and that's just from the people who eventually caught the mistakes!
- Universities/institutes rarely ease the burden. Faculty and staff are virtually always disallowed from discussing tax matters. There is no single uniform way that universities handle fellowship income, which adds to the confusion.
- Is a postbac for at least part of 2024 (but not a grad student for any part—see below!)
- Receives some non-employee (fellowship-type) income for their salary/stipend—it's OK to be an employee as well
- Is a US citizen, permanent resident, or resident for tax purposes
- Lives and is affiliated with a university/institute in the US
This is the only educational tax product available that is specifically designed for postbac non-employees.
You want an accurate tax return above all else because:
- You don't want to overpay your tax (and as a postbac you cannot afford to!).
- It might feel good to (unknowingly) underpay your tax in the moment, but you don't want the IRS to chase you down for the difference—plus penalties and interest—a few years from now.
- Form 1099-MISC
- Form 1099-NEC
- Form 1099-G
- Courtesy letter regarding your fellowship/training grant income
- Form 1098-T
- Bank account statements
- Having your health insurance paid on your behalf
- Being under age 24
- Paying for childcare expenses
- Contributing to an IRA
- Have closely examined your finances for all of your income sources.
- Recognize mistakes in your previous tax returns and see the opportunity to revise them (if applicable).
- Better understand the US tax system and how your income and expenses are viewed.
- Experience peace of mind that your tax return is accurate.
The workshop will benefit you no matter which method you ultimately use to prepare your tax return: DIY with the IRS's Free Fillable Forms, tax software, or a professional tax preparer.
(About This Workshop and Its Sister Workshops)
"I was terrified because I didn't know how I was going to do my taxes since my school does not take out money form our stipends for them. The step by step of how to calculate our full income and then use the different tax breaks to categorize said income to be able to calculate what we actually owe [was valuable]. I was so lost but this seminar was a life-saver. The shared excel sheets were also super helpful!"
"The slide visuals, relevant examples, pace, and language were effective in addressing common problems/misunderstandings and translating that in an accessible and educational way. Having access to Q+As was equally as useful for better understanding how my situation relates to other grad students' situations and absorbing additional information."
"I purchased your tax workshop... your resource totally saved my life!! I now have a strong grasp of my PhD finances and my fellowship forms (where the numbers come from, and why they might not be 100% correct based on additional expenses or which may be deemed a required expense or not).
"Your workshop is especially appreciated since I originally had VITA volunteers at my institution prepare my tax return, but they were uncertain about many things. I refrained from filing with them, and instead purchased your workshop and am now so excited and relieved to have a firm grasp on my funding/taxes as a first-year PhD student. I only recently noticed a serious error in the draft of my 1040 that VITA prepared, so I'm feeling especially lucky, and grateful to your workshop. Thank you so much!"
"[What I found valuable was] the clarity and detail of each video; the thorough response to my question submitted through the Q&A form; the focus on support conceptual understanding of, not simply procedural fluency with, tax returns. This was such a one-of-a-kind workshop...
Anonymous:
"[The workshop] gave a lot of guidance about how to get started tackling my tax return, as I felt rather abandoned by the university. In the end I still used H&R Block to help me file, but the workshop helped me understand the whole process as to what my tax situation was and helped calm a lot of anxiety that I had."
"I feel really confident this year that I did everything right and that I didn't under- or over-report. I am just so grateful I had this to walk me through a stressful task."
"The information provided in the workshop was invaluable. I'm one of the PhDs on a stipend with no documentation and not aware that I needed to make estimated payments. I'm happy to say that my taxes for 2021 are filed and I have already made my estimated tax payments for the first quarter of 2022."
"[The workshop] has been super helpful! The videos were clear and it made filling out my forms pretty straightforward despite the odd situation of being a graduate student. It definitely helped me feel less intimidated by everything as well."
"Your website and workshop have proven to be invaluable resources. We pointed out a lot to [our] tax preparer that she did not take into account in her original calculations. We persisted when she initially thought we were wrong, using the IRS info that you reference (especially helpful). I read them in depth and confirmed everything you stated (all correct!). Eventually, the tax preparer realized this as well, and in the end it saved my daughter over $1000!"
"The workshop was excellent. Particularly useful was the discussion of education benefits—I finally understood what counted and why."
"I appreciated the different segments and that the workshop was tailored to someone in my position with the questions I have. I didn't feel any of the material in the workshop itself was unclear and it was easy to pick up and work through the videos at my own pace. I also really appreciated [Emily's] availability - it was really nice to know that if I had any questions, I could just ask [her] directly!
"The workshop sections addressed each scenario that could apply to grad students so that I could identify the relevant portions. I appreciated the thorough information—even when the sections didn't apply to me—because it gave me a full picture of all of the components that I may need to consider as I prepared my taxes."
Anonymous:
"[The workshop help me] literally to understand what I was doing. It helped me through the whole thing and it's the first time in the 6 years I've lived here, where I was confident I was doing it right."
"[This workshop] is my go-to source for how to complete this very tricky process. Emily does her homework, updating things in real time, and also offers the Q&As. The entire package is comprehensive."
"The workshop does a great job explaining how to handle educational credits with a helpful accompanying worksheet."
"[The workshop is] extremely easy to follow!"
"It was worth the cost just to feel confident that I calculated my income correctly! I also think the info will be helpful for future anticipated changes to my income (e.g., fellowships)."
"The live Q&A sessions were great."
"The live Q&A sessions were great."
"[The workshop] was very thorough. It demystified a lot of the complications that have to do with fellowship income and education expenses."
I started out on the PhD track just like you are. I was a postbac for one year, and I completed my PhD in biomedical engineering at Duke University in 2014.
During that time, my passion for personal finance grew and grew, as did my desire to serve my own community.
I founded my business, Personal Finance for PhDs, after I defended. Over the years, I've found many avenues to assist PhDs with their personal finances, including speaking engagements at universities, individual and group financial coaching, webinars and workshops, ebooks, and my podcast.
This is the seventh year running that I have taught this tax material, and it has benefitted over two thousand PhD trainees so far.
You will also have the opportunity to ask me questions in any one or all of the remaining live Q&A calls. Or you can submit your questions in writing and receive a written answer.
You will have access to the workshop's modules and worksheets through the extended filing deadline in mid-October, plus you'll receive invitations to the remaining Q&A calls.
Thank you for allowing me to assist you with this particularly challenging aspect of your PhD life!
The tax year 2024 live Q&A calls will take place on:
- Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 12:00 PM PT
- Monday, February 10, 2025 at 10:00 AM PT
- Tuesday, February 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM PT
- Thursday, March 13, 2025 at 12:00 PM PT
- Friday, March 28, 2025 at 9:00 AM PT
- Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 12:00 PM PT
- Monday, April 14, 2025 at 1:00 PM PT
I think you should set aside an hour or two to complete the workshop, perhaps broken up into two sessions if you need to retrieve information.
Each module comprises a video in voice-over-slides format and a full transcript in slides-and-script format.
The workshop assumes you have no familiarity with the tax system and explains everything you need to know from the ground up.
While the workshop does not refer to any tax software product in particular, the insight you gain into how the higher education benefits work will help you better interpret what your tax software is prompting you for. Much of the work you will do to gather and categorize your own numbers is what your tax software expects you to have done before interfacing with it, anyway. You will also have the ability to double-check the tax return the software produces.
Please participate in the live Q&A call! You can show up live to talk with me or you can submit your questions in writing at any time. All submitted questions are posted and answered in writing in the Q&A module.
The workshop will remain available through the extended tax filing deadline in October 2025. I don't leave any single version of the workshop available in perpetuity because tax law and IRS forms are updated every year, and I don't want you working from outdated information.
I offer a satisfaction guarantee with this workshop, so if for whatever reason you realize it's not a good fit for you, simply email [email protected] and I will refund the purchase price.
Absolutely! I discount the workshop price to $25 per person for bulk purchases and offer a volume bonus. Please email me ([email protected]) to set up the purchase.
This is the Introduction video.