I received a $150 "stipend" for a one-time participation in a medical study. I do not expect to receive any other such "stipends" in 2020.
Is the $150 payment considered taxable income?
If so, should it be reported on the tax return, even if I do not receive a 1099-MISC? (I do not know whether or not I will.)
That is, is there a payment threshold under which such cumulative payments do not need to be reported on the tax return?
-----
The study is conducted by a univerity and funded by a company in the medical industry. I am not a student or employee of either. I am a patient of one of the doctors conducting the study. However, I will not receive any direct benefits from the study.
The payment is simply for my participation. In particular, it is not reimbursement for any out-of-pocket costs that I paid.
-----
A google search turned up conflicting answers.
According to one research site in 2017, ``[cumulative] study payments of $600 or more [need] to be reported on tax returns``.
(I suspect that is a misunderstanding. I believe they are alluding to the requirement for __them__ to report study payments to the IRS.)
But according to intuit.com (TurboTax?) in 2019, ``[i]come for participating in a clinical trial or medical study is taxable``. It cites IRS Private Letter Ruling 9106004. There is no mention by intuit.com of a cumulative payment threshold or any other mitigating conditions.
A google search found that PLR 9106004 is dated Aug 2, 1990. I was able to acquire a copy from legalbitstream.com.
PLR 9106004 is primarily concerned with the issue of whether payments for medical study participation should be treated as wages or self-employment income because, in that case, the participant was also an employee of the firm that conducted the study.
Although PLR 9106004 concluded "no", it did state: ``[t]he payments received by the worker [participant] are includible in gross income under section 61 of the Code``.
It is still unclear to me whether or not that applies to my situation.
(In hindsight, I wish I had asked if I could decline the payment. First, I did not participate for the payment; in fact, I wasn't even aware of it until the pre-study discussion immediately before the test. Second, I did not know it would be called a "stipend", which has a very technical meaning, in my mind.)