According to IRS regulations, the money that graduate students make as a Research Assistant or Teaching Assistant cannot be paid solely in the form of tuition funding. Therefore, MIT makes up the difference (plus the amount students are taxed) with a stipend or salary.
This of course leaves graduate students with an amount due (or shortfall) for tuition and fees—and they then need to pay MIT for this outstanding amount. This is explained in more detail on our tuition shortfall page.
The plan will show up as an option in MITPay within one week of your department creating a tuition shortfall award for you.
For information on the tuition shortfall process, as well as instructions on how to sign up for the payment plan and payroll deduction, please visit our tuition shortfall page.
You can enroll for both by logging in to MITPay and accepting the consent pop-up that asks about the payroll deduction, then selecting “Enroll in Payment Plan” under your balance due. Make sure to sign up for both the tuition shortfall payment plan and the payroll deduction to complete enrollment. Visit our tuition shortfall page for more information.
Most students use the shortfall amount from their graduate appointment email. If you have other charges on your account or expect additional expenses, these can be included in your payment plan or paid separately. Visit our tuition shortfall page for more information.
Payments are due on the first of each month starting October 1 for the fall term and February 1 for the spring term. If you enroll after these dates, you will need to pay any missed installments separately. The process can take up to three weeks from the time you enroll to be activated in the payroll system.
Yes. The tuition shortfall payment plan is term specific, so you will need to re-enroll at the beginning of each semester. Also, if you intend to take advantage of the automatic payroll deduction to pay back the shortfall amount, you will need to opt into the payroll deduction at the beginning of each term. However, you are welcome to pay the installment payments manually via MITPay.
Visit the tuition shortfall page for directions on how to enroll.
You must be enrolled in the tuition shortfall payment plan before your payroll deduction becomes active. To confirm you have an active plan, log in to MITPay and check under “Payment Plans.”
Please note that it can take up to two weeks for the payroll deduction to take effect once you set it up in MITPay. Payroll deduction installments are posted monthly around the first of the month, a few days after paychecks are issued.
Payroll deduction occurs twice a month while payments for the tuition shortfall payment plan are due once a month. This means each payroll deduction is half of that month’s installment. Depending on when you sign up for the payroll deduction, you may need to make up a portion of the installment payment. For example, if you enroll in the payment plan mid-month, you would need to pay for the first half of the monthly installment directly. Visit our tuition shortfall page for more information.