Tuition (Fee) Payment: All students receive a monthly financial statement (Bruinbill) from the University, which will include most charges in the student’s name (such as tuition, Ashe Center charges), as well as all credits received, including fellowship and TA benefits. Amounts owed are due on the 20th of each month. Overdue balances will incur a late fee, which will be charged at $20 per month, each month the balance is overdue.
Fee Remission: Fee remissions are employer-paid benefits applied to the appointee’s quarterly fee assessment. Only graduate students who are funded by being appointed in academic apprentice employment titles (specifically Graduate Student Researcher [GSR] or Teaching Assistant [TA] titles are eligible for fee remissions. Fee Remissions consist of the total of the following: Fee Remission I pays 100% of the Educational Fee + Fee Remission II pays 100% of the Student Services Fee + Health Insurance at 100% (GSHIP). GSR Fee Remissions are paid from the same source that pays the GSR salary (in most cases, a research grant). TA Fee Remissions are paid by the Graduate Division: http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu/gss/library/feesintro.htm
Nonresident Supplemental Tuition: California residents are not charged Non-Resident Supplemental Tuition (NRST = $5,034 per quarter) in addition to regular tuition. International students can never be classified as residents of California for tuition purposes and are therefore not expected to establish residency. Since graduate students in this program are financially supported, those who are U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents and who are not classified as residents of California for tuition purposes for 2014-15, are required by the program to consult the UCLA Residence Deputy immediately upon their arrival in Southern California to begin the process of establishing California Residency by the start of their second year in the doctoral program. Upon arrival in California, a student wishing to gain California tuition residency should establish ties with the state (i.e., get a driver’s license/California ID, register automobile, register to vote, change the permanent address on University records to a California address, and file a resident tax return). Contact the Residence Deputy at 1113 Murphy Hall, (310) 825-3447, for more residency information; by University policy, only the Residence Deputy is authorized to apply and interpret policy on tuition residency.
Reduced Nonresident Supplemental Tuition: At the point of advancing to candidacy for the doctorate, non-resident (international) graduate doctoral students become eligible for a complete reduction in nonresident tuition fee for a period of up to nine quarters.
Leave of Absence: For graduate students on official leave of absence, a percentage of registration fees paid are refunded to the source from which they were paid, according to the calendar date on which the official Request for Leave of Absence is submitted to the Graduate Division.
Emergency Loans: A227 Murphy Hall http://www.loans.ucla.edu/shorttermloan.html
In the Office of Student Loan Services & Collections, you can arrange an appointment with a loan officer to obtain an emergency loan. The Office is open 9:00am- 4:30pm on weekdays. You may borrow up to $200, or $350 if you are employed. Short-term loans are always due on the 20th day of the following month from the date on which the money was borrowed.
If you are a member of either the University Credit Union https://www.ucu.org OR the Westwood Student Federal Credit Union (308 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90095; Phone (310) 825-1211), you may be eligible for a loan through them.
Income Tax Help: The information provided is not a substitute for professional/government tax counseling, or for reading Internal Revenue Service and California Tax Board publications. Please consult with a qualified individual for more detailed information concerning applicable tax policies and regulations. The university and its staff are unable to provide specific tax advice to individuals.
The VITA Program at UCLA is designed to help the UCLA community (students, faculties, and local residents) properly prepare their annual federal and state income tax returns. Service is staffed by volunteers and is free of charge to the UCLA community. Tax preparation assistance is offered on a first come, first serve basis, so no appointments can be made in advance. Please note, the VITA Program is ONLY available to U.S. residents. https://www.usac.ucla.edu/vita/
For international students, tax preparation workshops are available through the Dashew Center in March-April of each year. http://www.internationalcenter.ucla.edu/home/Index
Do students have to pay taxes on fellowships (stipend awards)? Fellowship stipend income is taxed differently than most other types of income you may have encountered in the past. Amounts spent on fees, tuition, or required course expenses are not taxable. However, the portion of fellowship stipend income you spend on items other than fees, tuition, and required course expenses will likely be considered taxable by the IRS. U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are California residents (for tax purposes) do not have taxes withheld from their fellowship stipend checks. Nonetheless, these individuals may be required to make estimated quarterly tax payments and to report the income on their tax returns.
Foreign students and those who live outside of California and file tax returns as California nonresidents will have state and/or federal taxes withheld directly from their checks.
Information about fellowship taxation is available in IRS Publication 520, “Scholarships and Fellowships,” available for download from the IRS website. Another IRS publication available from the same website offers information on paying estimated tax when your residency status does not permit the tax to be withheld directly from your check: Publication 505, “Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax.”
Who can answer tax questions concerning fellowships? Graduate students are advised to retain “Offer of Graduate Student Support” agreements, fellowship and traineeship offer letters, BruinBill monthly statements, payroll wage stubs, and other documents and receipts related to fellowship stipends and course expenses.
View Tax Information and Forms for UCLA Award Recipients https://grad.ucla.edu/gss/library/taxintro.htm
for information about UCLA fellowship tax withholding and reporting.