Are scholarships taxable for international students in tax year 2026?

Is my TA or RA stipend a scholarship or wages?

A teaching or research assistantship that requires you to work is wages, not a scholarship. Your school usually reports it on Form W-2 and withholds income tax as for any job, not at the 14% scholarship rate (Pub 515).

Publication 519 says you cannot exclude the part of any scholarship or fellowship that pays you for services such as teaching or research. A fellowship with no work requirement stays a scholarship.

Assistantship pay goes on Form 1040-NR line 1a with your other W-2 wages. As an F-1 or J-1 nonresident alien, you pay no Social Security or Medicare tax on it (IRS; on-campus job taxes).

This page does not cover tuition waivers that come with an assistantship, which follow their own rules. Ask your school's payroll office how it reports yours.

Why did my school withhold 14% from my fellowship?

US payers withhold 14% from the taxable part of a scholarship paid to a nonresident alien in F, J, M or Q status (IRS). Nonresidents in other statuses face 30%.

The 14% is a prepayment, not your final tax. For students in these statuses, the taxable part counts as effectively connected income (IRC 871(c)). It is taxed on Form 1040-NR at the normal 2026 rates: 10% up to $12,400 of taxable income, 12% up to $50,400 and more above that (IRS).

With no other income, 14% is more than that tax on any taxable scholarship up to about $66,100. At $66,100 both come to $9,254 (14% of $66,100, or $5,800 plus 22% of $15,700). So a student whose only US income was a stipend is usually owed a refund, and gets it only by filing Form 1040-NR.

What if I am not a degree student?

If you are not a candidate for a degree, all of your scholarship is taxable, including any part spent on tuition (Pub 519). This usually describes J-1 research scholars and visiting researchers.

The 14% rate applies to a non-degree grant only if it meets the conditions in IRC 1441(b). Broadly, that is a grant for study, training or research at a US educational institution from a qualifying payer, such as a tax-exempt organization or a government. Other non-degree grants are withheld at 30%.

A non-degree grant that meets those conditions counts as effectively connected income (IRC 871(c)), so it goes on Schedule 1 line 8r like any other taxable scholarship. This page does not cover where a grant withheld at 30% goes on the return; see Pub 519 or ask a tax professional.

An exchange student taking courses for credit toward a degree may still count as a degree candidate, so ask your school how it classifies you. Our guide for J-1 researchers and scholars covers the rest of their return.

Is a scholarship from my home country taxable in the US?

Generally no. A scholarship from your home-country government is foreign-source income, and a nonresident alien pays no US tax on a grant that is not from US sources (Pub 519).

Pub 519 says the source of a scholarship is generally the residence of the payer, "regardless of who actually disburses the funds". So the grant stays foreign-source even if your US university passes the money to you. A grant for study or research done outside the United States is not US-source either. A US university paying from its own funds is a US payer, so its scholarships follow the rules above.

Does a tax treaty make my scholarship tax-free?

A tax treaty makes a scholarship tax-free only if your country's treaty has a student article that covers scholarships. IRS sources confirm this for China and for the nine former Soviet republics still under the US-USSR treaty. Publication 901 and Publication 4011 show the same for 19 more countries, such as the Czech Republic, Portugal and Spain. Our tax treaty guide lists all 19. For any other country, read your treaty's student article in Publication 901 before you claim it.

The China article covers a student who was a resident of the People's Republic of China on arrival. You must be in the US only to study or train (treaty text; Treasury explanation). The Form W-9 instructions confirm that Article 20 exempts scholarship income of a Chinese student temporarily present in the US. Our China treaty guide has the details. For the second row, Pub 901 says the US-USSR treaty still applies to those nine countries and describes the stipend and scholarship exemption.

India's treaty works differently. Article 21(2) lets Indian students take the $16,100 standard deduction on Form 1040-NR, which other nonresidents cannot (IRS). The deduction comes off your taxable scholarship and wages together, so the first $16,100 of that income is not taxed (India treaty guide).

To have a treaty applied when you are paid, give your school Form W-8BEN for a scholarship that is not pay for work (IRS). If the school did not apply it, claim the treaty on your return. List the income on Schedule OI item L (2025 form; the 2026 form is not out yet) and enter the total on Form 1040-NR line 1k.

Students claiming a treaty exemption for a taxable scholarship generally do not need to attach Form 8833 (IRS). Our guide on how to claim a tax treaty walks through Schedule OI.