Money Issues-current MSTP trainees

[jeonsied]

I am not sure how the income tax thing works out with our stipend, therefore I do not know how much I can spend on housing and live well. I will be going to NYU in specific and it will be my first time living in New York therefore I pretty much clueless.

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[Gfunk6]

You have to pay federal income tax on your stipend for all years of medical and graduate school, end of story. Some people do not pay it out of ignorance or a deliberate attempt at tax evasion. Often you can get away with it due to the relatively small amount of money involved.

Unfortunately, if you get caught, and I personally know MSTPers who did, then you must pay all back taxes plus a penalty.

 

[Vader]

In addition, you must make quarterly estimated tax payments. Check out the IRS web site and especially their publication on Scholarships for more info: www.irs.gov

Hope this helps.

 

[huknows00]

So the MSTP scholarship does not cover housing? So I guess you gotta pay from your stipend or out of your own pocket. How much do you have left after the housing and board stuff? Can you get paid in the summer if you work in a lab or another summer job?

7-8 years is a huge committment and I want to make sure that I can live off the 20k stipend. Is it enough for most of you guys?

 

[HotSteamingTurd]

I go to U of Michigan where my stipend started out at 15K, then went up to 17K, then 17.5K...blah blah blah...now it's 21.5K. I've manged to live quite comfortably with this kind of money. Regardless of the stipend, you will have tuition paid for. That's the big benefit! Imagine in 6-8 years, your med school classmates being in over $100K in debt and you making out OK.

Living in NYC is expensive; I haven't lived there but that's my impression. So given the stipend that NYU gives you, you may need additional money. But still you won't be in debt from paying tuition. MSTP rocks baby!

 

[Neuronix]

Do you know how much the NYU student housing is going to cost you? You'll probably make out alright. With any luck (i.e. parents don't make a ton of money and your school doesn't forbid MSTPs from doing this) you could also take out the Stafford Subsidized loans like I do at a tune of $8,500/yr without accruing interest until like 3 year of residency. I make out great with my $23k/yr Penn stipend. Sure, I live in Philly, but NYU student housing can't be that much more expensive than where I live. For any curious people, I only started dipping into that loan money for some things above and beyond comfortable living. It's nice to have the money laying aorund in case you need it or for vacations

 

[Newquagmire]

from what i remember, nyu housing for M1s the dorm tower is maybe $500/month, utilities included. the stipend they give you (25k) is good enough to cover that and food. if you want to go out and have fun on the other hand... =)

 

[jeonsied]

Thanks everybody, so in general the taxes are not bad enough to leave me with very little money. I know I won't be living like a queen but I wanted to know I wasn't going to be broke either.

 

[jeonsied]

So the MSTP scholarship does not cover housing? So I guess you gotta pay from your stipend or out of your own pocket. How much do you have left after the housing and board stuff? Can you get paid in the summer if you work in a lab or another summer job?

7-8 years is a huge committment and I want to make sure that I can live off the 20k stipend. Is it enough for most of you guys?

None of the programs I applied to payed for housing and I am still not sure if they covered medical insurance costs. From what I have heard the stipend is generally enough for everyone, it is there to pay for your personal expenses, including housing.

 

[Neuronix]

None of the programs I applied to payed for housing and I am still not sure if they covered medical insurance costs. From what I have heard the stipend is generally enough for everyone, it is there to pay for your personal expenses, including housing.

No, you're expected to pay for housing and living from your stipend. Frankly, in most locations that's not an issue. We don't make a bad wage for a single person. Further, it's not taxed as hard (again, this is location dependant), but here in Philly we don't pay PA state tax, Philly city tax, social security, medicare, FICA, or any of that other odd stuff that shows up on a normal paystub. This makes our wage even more attractice. As for medical insurance, that's typically covered by the program, but not always.

 

[ImmunoANT]

....here in Philly we don't pay PA state tax, Philly city tax, social security, medicare, FICA, or any of that other odd stuff that shows up on a normal paystub......

no PA state and city tax?!! are you saying that we only have to pay federal? i had to pay ~1500$ of state (Maryland) and county taxes last year, a big dip on my bank account

 

[Neuronix]

are you saying that we only have to pay federal?

Exactly what I'm saying

 

[GeneGoddess]

I'm in Texas, where we don't have state income tax (but our sales and property taxes are murder). I started with an income (eek) of $12,000. Really. And that was with a rent of $500/mo. Did that for 3 years before jumping to $18K and gradually to $20K. Now that I'm returning to 4th year, I'm going back DOWN to $16K. Sucks.

OH, and you ONLY have to pay quarterly taxes if you will owe more than $1000 in taxes. When I was making $12K, my taxes were somewhere between $500-700, so I just wrote a check in April.