Does your unit make payments to postdoctoral fellows? If so, see below for guidance to help ensure your postdoctoral fellowship payments are properly accounted for:
- As outlined within Section 8.6.13, Postdoctoral Fellowship Payments of the Business & Finance Policies and Procedures, postdoctoral fellowships are payments that provide financial assistance to postdoctoral fellows to aid them during their period of advanced mentored training.
- Postdoctoral fellows are not University of Illinois System students, since they are not seeking or working towards a degree.
- Thus, the system has no IRS 1098-T reporting obligations to postdoctoral fellows.
- In addition, postdoctoral fellows are not employees of the system, as they do not perform services for the system and are not paid wages.
- Thus, the system has no IRS Form W-2 or IRS Form 1099 reporting obligations to postdoctoral fellows.
- Postdoctoral fellows also differ from postdoctoral research associates, as postdoctoral research associates are employees of the system who are often paid from a grant (or another type of fund).
- Postdoctoral fellowship payments must be paid from a C-FOAP which utilizes an allowable fund code along with the proper expense account code and NACUBO function to ensure accurate financial reporting.
- For further details on this requirement, refer to procedural step 3 within the “Procedure” section of Section 8.6.13, Postdoctoral Fellowship Payments. Keep in mind that the proper coding will vary depending on the circumstances surrounding the payment.
Contact
If you have further questions on this topic, reach out to UAFR at (217) 333-4568 or at uas@uillinois.edu.
In addition, the Tax Compliance and Analysis office is another great resource that can provide further details if needed. They can be reached by calling (217) 244-8359.
