A recent change was made to the TAP policy which is impacting taxability requirements for TAP participants.

The changes to the TAP Policy related to taxes are as follows and are effective for the calendar/tax year 2022:

• The TAP benefit is no longer taxable for TAP participants taking undergraduate courses, even those who exceed the $5,250 benefit limit.
• The TAP benefit continues to be taxable for TAP participants taking Graduate level courses over the $5,250 limit unless they are approved for a tax waiver.  In order to be eligible for approval for the waiver, each individual course would need to improve the employee’s knowledge or performance in their current duties.   If the education is to meet the minimum educational requirement for the current job, to qualify for a promotion or salary increase, to qualify for a transfer or is being taken as a hobby, it would NOT be eligible for a tax waiver– and taxes would apply on the benefit over $5,250.

The updated TAP policy is available here.

Going forward, graduate students will need to complete and turn in both, the TAP application and the TAP Graduate Student Tax Waiver form each semester and be approved by their supervisor and the home institution TAP coordinator to receive a tax waiver for those courses. All classes may not apply towards the waiver and the courses are looked at on an individual basis to ensure each one meets the above conditions.  The TAP Graduate Student Tax Waiver form is located on the USG TAP website.