ylee@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU (03/14/86)
It's not true that you don't need to pay tax if you are a RA working under a grant from a federal organization. A graduate assistant doesn't need to pay tax on his/her salary only when the work on which the salary is paid is for the degree (i.e., the work is part of the requirments for the degree). Therefore, if the RA duty is thesis-related research, then the RA's salary is tax-free. Likewise, if teaching is part of the requirements for a degree, then a TA can have tax-free pay too.