Student Travel Reimbursements

Travel reimbursements are considered taxable Travel Grants by the IRS and are taxable to the international student at 14% if there is no identifiable business purpose or benefit to Vanderbilt. If your travel reimbursement involves you presenting your research or speaking about your research, this is considered a benefit to Vanderbilt and will not be a taxable event to the student.  The student must add this information to their expense report summary to expedite their report approval. If the travel is for the student’s personal, educational benefit, it is considered taxable scholarship income.  This categorization also includes student recruitment travel reimbursements.  If the student recruit is not in the U.S. in an F or J status, the travel is considered OTHER taxable income by the IRS, and is taxable at 30%.