Is my relocation stipend taxed?
Yes, a cash relocation or housing stipend is taxable wages. The question is who pays it: if your offer says "grossed up", the company adds the tax on top so you keep the stated amount.
Why is so much taken out of my stipend?
Payroll usually withholds federal tax on lump sums at a flat 22%, plus 7.65% Social Security and Medicare, plus your state's rate. That's withholding, not your final tax.
Will I get some of it back?
Often, yes. An intern's yearly income is low, so the real tax can be less than what was withheld. We estimate the refund from the 2026 brackets and standard deduction.
What does the plan add?
Unlimited offers compared side by side after tax and rent, a PDF of each offer card, and a refund estimate you can update with your real paystubs. We also email you the comparison two days before an offer deadline you entered. $4.99 a month, nothing charged for the first 7 days, cancel any time.
Is this tax advice?
No. It's an estimate from published federal and state tables. Your payroll and your return decide the real numbers.
What isn't in the numbers?
City and county income taxes (New York City, Philadelphia, Maryland counties and others), state disability and paid-leave premiums (usually around 1%), pre-tax benefits like a 401(k), and the rules for students on F-1 or J-1 visas, who are often exempt from Social Security and Medicare and file as nonresidents. The card tells you when one of these applies to your state.
Grossed up vs not
The same $5,000 relocation in Washington, in two pictures.
Not grossed up
Your W-2 shows $5,000. Payroll keeps $1,100 federal and $382.50 Social Security and Medicare. You get $3,517.50 now; part of the $1,100 often comes back when you file.
Grossed up
The company pays the withholding on top. Your W-2 shows about $7,107, payroll keeps about $2,107, and the full $5,000 lands. The extra $2,107 counts as your income at filing.
How we calculate
Each card does what payroll does, then what your return does.
| What | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly pay, federal | Percentage method on each paycheck, annualized (W-4 from 2020 on, single, nothing else claimed) | IRS Pub 15-T |
| Stipends and bonuses, federal | 22% flat (supplemental wages paid separately) | IRS Pub 15 |
| Social Security and Medicare | 6.2% + 1.45% = 7.65% on everything; not refunded | IRS Pub 15 |
| Stipends, state | The state's supplemental rate where it has one (California 6.6% on stipends, 10.23% on bonuses; New York 11.7%); otherwise its regular method on pay plus the payment | Patriot Software 2026 chart |
| Hourly pay, state | The state's 2026 brackets, deduction and exemption on your annualized pay | Tax Foundation 2026 state table |
| Your real tax and refund | 2026 federal brackets (10% to $12,400, then 12%) after the $16,100 standard deduction, on everything you earn that year; the same for the work state | Tax Foundation 2026 brackets (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32) |
We check these sources every week and refresh the tables each January. Internships in 2027 use the 2026 tables until the 2027 ones are published.
Who it's for
US college students and new grads holding internship or co-op offers, mostly in CS and engineering, who see "relocation", "housing" or "grossed up" in the letter and want the real number before they sign.
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