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V2592-18 25 September 2018 · SG de Impuestos sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas Criterion in force
IRPF · rendimientos del trabajo

Payments under predoctoral employment contracts are not exempt from Income Tax

A researcher enquired whether the remuneration from their predoctoral contract for research tasks could be treated as an exempt scholarship. The Directorate General for Taxes (DGT) ruled that, because an employment contract exists, the payments are not scholarships and must be taxed as employment income.

The question raised

Exemption or liability to taxation of said amount.

The DGT's ruling

Amounts paid within the framework of an employment contract are not considered scholarships. The nature of scholarships is incompatible with the existence of an employment contract, which implies the provision of services under the organization and direction of the employer. Therefore, these remunerations must be taxed as income from employment and are subject to withholding.

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