Waived Fees as Taxable Income
As part of the Alaska Graduate Workers Association (AGWA) collective bargaining agreement, specific student fees—like the Consolidated Student Fee and the UA Infrastructure Fee—are waived each semester for eligible graduate assistants. AGWA members may notice that some of these waived fees appeared as taxable income on their December pay stubs.
Here’s why:
The IRS requires universities to treat waived fees as taxable income when they cover services that do not directly support instruction. This includes access to recreation centers, athletics, student government, and other non-academic services.
Examples of taxable waived fees:
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Athletics and Nanook Recreation
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Student Government and Media
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Student Sustainability and Arts Access
Examples of non-taxable waived fees:
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Student Health and Counseling Services
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Library and Academic Support Centers
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Technology Services supporting coursework
This tax reporting is required under IRS Publication 970, Chapter 1, and ensures compliance with federal law. While the fees are waived and no payment is collected, the value of certain waived benefits must still be reported as income.
To see the full breakdown of fees, visit:
UAF: https://catalog.uaf.edu/costs-financial-aid/tuition/?#basicstudentfeestextcontainer
UAA: https://catalog.uaa.alaska.edu/academicpoliciesprocesses/tuitionfees/fees/
UAS: https://uas.alaska.edu/student-accounts/tuition-fees.html#dl-7114321-N1062D
Need additional help or have questions?
Please contact ua-ler@alaska.edu for additional assistance.
To contact other UA HR teams, please visit our Contact Us page at https://alaska.edu/hr/contact.php