Payments to Students

Students should be considered an hourly employee if they have a temporary or ongoing position within a campus department or program and is hired to perform a specific service to the College. This includes paid “interns.”  For information regarding Student Employment, please contact the Manager of Student Employment at (207) 725-3497.

• When a payment is a one-time award or prize to honor a student’s achievement.  These are typically recognized at Bowdoin’s annual Honors Day ceremony in May. The Financial Edge account code should be 6534 (Prizes/Awards) and an Accounts Payable Voucher should be submitted. 
• The student has been awarded funds (often called a “fellowship”) to conduct a project for his or her personal educational benefit.  S/he may be mentored by a member of the faculty or staff, and may pursue the project on campus but the payment is not for services rendered to the College. The Financial Edge account code should be 6537 – Summer Fellowship OR 6536 – Academic Fellowship.  Contact the Center for Co-Curricular Opportunities for the appropriate award voucher.    
• The student has been awarded Bowdoin funds for career exploration purposes.  S/he may coincidentally be providing a service to an outside organization, but the funding is paid to the student.  The Financial Edge account code should be 6537 – Summer Fellowship OR 6536 – Academic Fellowship.  Contact the Center for Co-Curricular Opportunities for the appropriate award voucher.   
• The student is performing a service that is comparable to that of an independent contractor hired by the College (i.e. entertainers hired to perform at a specific event, authors hired to write a specific article for the Bowdoin Magazine, etc.). The Financial Edge account code should be 5650 – Contracted Services–Labor and an Accounts Payable Voucher should be submitted. 
• When a student needs to be reimbursed for an approved expense, an Accounts Payable Voucher should be submitted with supporting documentation (receipts required for purchases $50 and greater).  

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE VOUCHER

It is preferred for students to receive funds via direct deposit. If the student is not being paid through Payroll and has not previously established a direct deposit record in Accounts Payable, he/she should complete a Fellowship/Scholarship Direct Deposit Authorization Form and send directly to the Controller’s Office, 216 Maine Street (Attn: Joanna Long).

Income Taxes may be deducted if:

• Payment is a paycheck via Payroll. FICA (Social Security and Medicare taxes) will not be deducted from student
• paychecks during the course of the academic year in which the student is enrolled (including fall, winter and spring breaks).
• FICA will be deducted during periods of non-enrollment, such as summer break or a semester or leave of absence from the College.

Income Taxes will NOT be deducted if:

• Payment is paid via Accounts Payable.
• The student claims “exempt” on federal and state income tax forms submitted to Bowdoin College annually.  (Students must re-certify exempt status each calendar year and will receive an email reminder from payroll.)

In accordance with federal regulations, Bowdoin College will send the relevant tax documents to all applicable students as detailed below:

• Payroll Wages: Students who have received paychecks will be sent IRS Form W-2 by January 31st for the preceding calendar year.
• Accounts Payable Payments: Students who receive prizes/awards and/or personal services payments that exceed $599.99 will receive an IRS Form 1099MISC by January 31st for the preceding calendar year.
• Fellowship Payments: Students who receive fellowship payments will receive a “Statement of Payments” by January 31st for the preceding calendar year. If the student receives a housing allowance, the in-kind value will be listed as well.

Note: Students, for the purposes of their planning, may receive or request information regarding the value of in-kind payments prior to receipt of the tax documents.