<p>I hate this. I had similar issues with my NSF graduate research fellowship; neither my university nor NSF were helpful and both told me to consult a tax consultant. Yes, I will consult a tax expert with my $30,000 pre-tax income, sure. Honestly universities do this to avoid paying payroll taxes on the stipends and they refuse to counsel you to avoid being sued for giving inaccurate information.</p>
<p>My university does not provide me with a 1099 for the NSF either. In January they send me a letter that basically says “You should’ve been tracking your own fellowship amounts every month, hope you did that!” I ended up reporting my fellowship as fellowship/scholarship income through TurboTax’s forms (I’m not sure what box that is on the actual forms though). For the case of the REU that doesn’t provide the 1099, that might be the way to go? I usually get taxed about 20% on the amount (federal and state income tax but not SS, Medicare and FICA, I think.)</p>