Editorial Standards
How we research, review, and update this guide
Every Accountably guide is researched against primary IRS sources, reviewed by a U.S. CPA, and refreshed as guidance evolves. Read our Editorial Guidelines to see how we source, fact-check, and update our content.
Quick story, a reader wrote in because an examination letter showed up with a questionnaire stapled to it and they had no idea what it was. The issue was not the return, it was the response. We read the Form 9368 the IRS had sent, identified which scholarship amounts were genuinely excludable, and returned it with the grant and the original application attached. A small, well-documented answer kept a tax-free award tax-free.
Form 9368 is not there to slow you down. It is a structured questionnaire. Use it to report the grant amount, any additional amounts for travel or supplies, the duties you performed beyond research, and any past or future work for the grantor. Those facts help the examiner decide whether the grant was excludable. Treat each numbered question as a fact to document, not a hurdle to clear.
Key Takeaways
- Form 9368 is the IRS Questionnaire - Scholarship or Fellowship Grant, a one-page form the IRS mails during an examination when a return excluded scholarship or fellowship income. It collects the amount of the grant, the organization that awarded it, and the period the grant covered. It is how the examiner tests whether the grant income was truly excludable.
- The questionnaire captures the grant amount, any additional amounts broken out for travel and supplies, the time you spent on duties other than research, and any fringe benefits you received. You return it with a copy of the grant and a copy of the application you submitted for it.
- It is not a return or an election. The IRS mails it during an examination of a return that already excluded scholarship or fellowship income, and you sign your answers under penalties of perjury before returning them to the examiner.
- All 14 numbered questions, including sub-parts such as 3a through 3c and 8a through 8d, need a response. If a question does not apply, enter N/A rather than leaving it blank.
- Service-style facts work against exclusion. Time spent examining patients, teaching, or lecturing (Line 8), fringe benefits like sick leave or insurance (Line 9), and past or future work for the grantor (Lines 12a and 12b) all point toward taxable compensation rather than a true scholarship.
What Form 9368 is, and why it matters
Think of Form 9368 as the examination questionnaire the IRS sends to test whether a scholarship or fellowship you excluded from income was truly excludable. It is not a return or an election. It arrives during an audit of a return that already reported or excluded grant income, and the introductory text on the form says it plainly: the IRS uses your answers to assist in the examination of your return.
What Form 9368 asks you to confirm:
- The amount of the grant and the organization that awarded it (Lines 1 and 2)
- Any amounts received in addition to the grant, broken out for travel, materials and supplies, and other (Line 3)
- The percentage of time spent on duties other than research, such as examining patients, teaching, or lecturing (Line 8)
- Whether you were provided fringe benefits such as sick leave, vacations, or insurance (Line 9)
- Whether you have worked, or will work, for the grantor (Lines 12a and 12b)
Pro tip, save a copy of the grant award letter, your original application, and the completed Form 9368 in one folder. If the examiner follows up, having the same package the IRS has speeds things up.
Why the form is signed under penalties of perjury
The certification block at the bottom of Form 9368 carries the same legal weight as signing a tax return. You declare that you have examined the statement and that it is true, correct, and complete to the best of your knowledge and belief. That is why an unsigned or undated form is not validly certified, and why guessing on a question you have not confirmed is a poor idea.
A quick line-by-line response guide
When you respond to Form 9368, work through it in this order.
- Enter the grant amount and the organization that awarded it (Lines 1 and 2)
- Break out any additional amounts for travel, materials and supplies, and other (Lines 3a, 3b, 3c)
- Answer the service-test questions honestly (Lines 7 through 12)
- Attach a copy of the grant you received and the application you submitted for it
- Enter N/A on any of the 14 questions that do not apply, then sign and date the certification under penalties of perjury
If a question is unclear, compare your answer against the grant award letter and your original application, then keep both with your file so the examiner can tie your answers back to the source documents.
How the questions separate excludable from taxable amounts
Form 9368 asks you to report the grant amount and any additional amounts, then break those additional amounts into travel, materials and supplies, and other. That breakdown lets the examiner separate dollars that may qualify for the scholarship exclusion from dollars that are usually taxable, such as travel and incidental expenses.
What generally points toward exclusion
- Amounts used for tuition or for required fees, books, and supplies tied to courses
- Freedom to choose your own field and location of research (Line 7)
- No service condition attached to the award, so the money is not pay for work
Reader tip, line up each additional amount on Line 3 with a receipt or the grant terms. The cleaner the trail, the easier it is to defend the excludable portion.
What generally points toward taxable income
- Amounts for travel and incidental expenses, which are generally taxable
- Time spent on duties other than research, such as examining patients, teaching, or lecturing (Line 8)
- Fringe benefits such as sick leave, vacations, or insurance (Line 9), which look like employment
- Past or future work for the grantor (Lines 12a and 12b), which suggests compensation for services
Line 5, the grant period and its date format
Line 5 asks for the beginning and ending dates the grant covered, entered in MM/DD/YYYY format. Use that exact format and make sure the period matches the award letter you attach, so the examiner can confirm the grant lined up with the tax year under review.
If the grant spanned more than one year, be ready to explain how the income was reported across those years, including any prior exclusion you report on Line 13.
What you must attach with the questionnaire
The introductory text asks you to provide two documents along with your answers.
- A copy of the grant you received, meaning the award letter or grant agreement
- A copy of the application you submitted for the grant
If you answer Yes on Line 14 (leave of absence), also attach a statement from that employer showing the dates of employment, the length of the leave, and the expected date of return. Returning the questionnaire without these documents is incomplete and will slow the examination.
The detail people skip, only the last four SSN digits
The form asks for only the last four digits of your Social Security Number, not the full number. Enter the last four where requested, and resist the habit of writing out the entire SSN on a document that is being mailed back to an examiner.
The header fields and who fills them in
The top of Form 9368 has a few fields that confuse first-time recipients. The Tax year field identifies the year under examination, and the In reply refer to field is an IRS internal reference. That reference is filled in by the IRS, not by you, so leave it as printed and answer the numbered questions below it.
Small win, treat your exam response like a process. Create a simple SOP for how you gather documents, how you store them, and how you confirm the answers before signing. At Accountably, we are big on documentation discipline because it prevents rework and confusion, and the same habit keeps an exam response complete the first time.
The service test, the exact facts examiners weigh
Several questions exist to test whether the grant was really pay for services dressed up as a scholarship. Answer them honestly, because inconsistencies surface fast in an exam.
- Line 7, whether you were free to choose your field and location of research, and if Yes, an explanation
- Line 8, the percentage of time spent on examining patients, teaching, lecturing, or other duties
- Line 9, whether you received sick leave, vacations, insurance, or other fringe benefits
- Line 10, to whom progress reports, if required, were furnished
- Line 11, whether you were entitled to any copyrights or patents from your work
- Lines 12a and 12b, whether you worked for the grantor in the past or will in the future
Lines 4a and 4b are separate questions, not a single either-or checkbox. They ask whether the grant was awarded under a contract between the institution and the U.S. Government (4a) or between the institution and a private organization (4b). Both can be Yes, or both can be No.
Why these questions matter
When the answers show employee-style features, fringe benefits, required service, IP assigned to the grantor, or an ongoing employment relationship, the IRS is more likely to treat the amount as taxable wages rather than an excludable scholarship. The cleaner your facts and explanations, the easier it is to support the portion that genuinely qualifies for exclusion.
The 14 questions at a glance
It helps to see the whole questionnaire before you start answering. Every numbered question needs a response, and several have sub-parts. Where a question does not apply, enter N/A rather than leaving it blank.
What each line covers
| Line | What it asks | Why it matters |
| 1 and 2 | Grant amount and the awarding organization | Establishes the dollars and source under review |
| 3a, 3b, 3c | Additional amounts for travel, materials and supplies, and other | Separates likely-taxable travel from possibly-excludable supplies |
| 7, 8, 9 | Freedom to choose research, non-research duties, fringe benefits | Tests whether the award is compensation for services |
| 12a, 12b, 14 | Past or future work for the grantor, and leave of absence | Surfaces an employment relationship behind the grant |
The current revision and where to find it
Two facts about the form itself trip people up.
- The current revision is Form 9368 (Rev. 5-2015). Despite the 2015 date, no later revision has been issued, and the IRS still uses this version for scholarship and fellowship examinations.
- The catalog number is 13346B, printed in the lower-left footer, and the entire form is a single page.
My take, if you receive Form 9368 in a current-year examination, complete the May 2015 revision as-is. You do not need to hunt for a newer version, because there is not one.
Responding to the exam with confidence
One reason people freeze when Form 9368 arrives is that it looks like a test. It is, but it is an open-book one. You are documenting facts about a grant you already received, and you have the award letter and your application in hand to support every answer.
Practical steps you can use this week:
- Read the examination letter and note the tax year shown in the form header
- Pull the original return and identify the scholarship or fellowship amount that was excluded
- Gather the grant award letter, your original application, and any Line 14 employer statement before you start writing answers
Common response mistakes and simple fixes
- Treating the form as something you file proactively. It is an examination questionnaire the IRS sends you, not a return.
- Leaving inapplicable questions blank instead of entering N/A, which reads as unanswered
- Reporting a single lump sum on Line 3 instead of breaking out travel, materials and supplies, and other
- Returning the questionnaire without the grant and the application attached, which leaves it incomplete
Process tip, name your files with a simple pattern, “Form9368_TaxYear_LastName.pdf,” and keep the attachments in the same folder. A little order saves time if the examiner follows up.
A reusable one page checklist
- Tax year under examination, from the form header
- Grant amount and awarding organization (Lines 1 and 2)
- Additional amounts broken out, travel (3a), materials and supplies (3b), other (3c)
- Grant period beginning and ending dates in MM/DD/YYYY format (Line 5)
- Service-test answers reviewed (Lines 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
- Last four digits of the Social Security Number entered where requested
- Grant award letter attached
- Original grant application attached
- Line 14 employer statement attached if the leave-of-absence answer is Yes
- Certification block signed and dated under penalties of perjury
How to gather the documents you need
If you no longer have the grant award letter or your original application, request copies from the awarding organization or your school before you respond. You can also download a blank Form 9368 from IRS.gov if you want to see every question before drafting. Save these documents in one folder so your answers and your attachments stay together.
If you are helping a student or family member respond, build a shared folder with view-only access. It keeps everyone working from the same award letter and application without risking accidental edits.
What to do next
- Pull Form 9368, the examination letter, and the original return that excluded the grant
- Gather the grant award letter and your original application for attachment
- Break out additional amounts on Lines 3a, 3b, and 3c instead of carrying a single figure
- Answer the service-test questions (Lines 7 through 12) honestly, with explanations where asked
- Enter N/A on any inapplicable line, then sign and date the certification before the package goes back
Accuracy note, the form facts in this guide reflect Form 9368 (Rev. 5-2015), Catalog Number 13346B, the current revision the IRS uses for scholarship and fellowship examinations. Always confirm the questions and instructions against the copy the IRS actually sent you.
Closing thoughts
You do not need a law degree to answer Form 9368. You need the grant award letter, your application, and a simple process. Report the grant and any additional amounts, break out travel and supplies, answer the service-test questions honestly, and attach the documents the form asks for. Enter N/A where a question does not apply, then sign under penalties of perjury.
Keep this page handy. The next time an examination letter arrives with a questionnaire attached, you will know it is testing whether a scholarship or fellowship was truly excludable, and exactly how to respond.
Common Mistakes We See Every Season
Form 9368 lands on a taxpayer's desk because an examiner is already questioning whether a scholarship or fellowship was truly excludable on the Form 1040 that reported it. The errors I see most are not math errors, they are response errors that hand the examiner an easy reason to treat the grant as taxable wages.
Reusable Checklists
These are copy-paste ready for a firm SOP. Drop them into your exam-response workflow so every Form 9368 reply goes out complete the first time, with a documented trail behind it.
Form 9368 exam-response packet
- Confirm the examination letter and the tax year shown in the form header.
- Pull the original return and identify the excluded scholarship or fellowship amount.
- Answer all 14 numbered questions, entering N/A on any line that does not apply.
- Break out additional amounts on Lines 3a (travel), 3b (materials and supplies), and 3c (other, with a description).
- Enter the grant period beginning and ending dates on Line 5 in MM/DD/YYYY format.
- Attach a copy of the grant award letter.
- Attach a copy of the original grant application.
- Enter only the last four digits of the Social Security Number where requested.
- Have the taxpayer sign and date the penalties-of-perjury certification block.
Excludability review before you respond
- Confirm degree-candidate status and that funds went toward tuition or required fees, books, and supplies.
- Flag any travel or incidental amounts from Line 3a as likely taxable.
- Review Line 8 for time spent examining patients, teaching, or lecturing.
- Review Line 9 for fringe benefits such as sick leave, vacation, or insurance.
- Review Lines 12a and 12b for past or future employment with the grantor.
- Note Line 7 (freedom to choose field and location) and Line 11 (copyright or patent rights).
- Estimate the taxable versus excludable split before drafting the answers.
Line 14 leave-of-absence add-on
- Confirm the Line 14 answer with the taxpayer.
- Request an employer statement showing the dates of employment.
- Confirm the statement shows the length of the leave.
- Confirm the statement shows the expected date of return.
- Attach the employer statement to the Form 9368 package.
Keep 9368 Season From Stalling
Form 9368 does not arrive on a calendar. It shows up mid-engagement, attached to an examination letter, the moment the IRS decides to test a scholarship or fellowship exclusion on a return your client already filed. According to the May 2015 revision of IRS Form 9368, the response runs to 14 numbered questions plus required attachments, and every answer is signed under penalties of perjury, so a rushed reply carries real exposure.
The teams that handle these well do not improvise. They treat each exam letter as a standardized workflow with a fixed document list, a single reviewer for the excludability call, and a response deadline tracked the day the notice arrives.
- A retrieval step that gathers the grant award letter, the original application, and any Line 14 employer statement before drafting begins.
- A line-by-line pass that breaks out Lines 3a, 3b, and 3c instead of carrying a single additional-amount figure.
- A service-test review of Lines 8, 9, and 12 to gauge how much of the grant looks like compensation rather than a true scholarship.
- An N/A sweep so no question among the 14, or their sub-parts, goes back blank.
- A sign-off check confirming the certification block is dated and signed before the package leaves.
That is the kind of structured, reviewed execution we build for clients. If exam correspondence is pulling senior people off billable work, our tax preparation and review support can run the Form 9368 response from retrieval to a second-reviewer check, with documented steps before anything is signed.
FAQs
What is IRS Form 9368?
Form 9368 is the IRS Questionnaire - Scholarship or Fellowship Grant. It is a one-page form the IRS sends a taxpayer during an examination of a return that excluded scholarship or fellowship income, so the examiner can test whether the grant was truly excludable.
Do I file Form 9368 with my tax return?
No. Form 9368 is not a return or an election you file to claim the exclusion. The IRS mails it during an examination, usually attached to an examination letter. You complete it, sign it under penalties of perjury, and return it to the examiner.
What do I attach when I return Form 9368?
Attach a copy of the grant you received and a copy of the application you submitted for it. If you answer Yes on Line 14 (leave of absence), also include a statement from that employer showing the dates of employment, the length of the leave, and the expected date of return.
How many questions are on Form 9368, and can I leave any blank?
There are 14 numbered questions, several with sub-parts such as 3a through 3c and 8a through 8d. Do not leave any blank. If a question does not apply, enter N/A so the examiner can see each item was considered.
Which Form 9368 facts suggest the grant is taxable?
Time spent on duties other than research such as examining patients, teaching, or lecturing (Line 8), fringe benefits like sick leave, vacation, or insurance (Line 9), and past or future work for the grantor (Lines 12a and 12b) point toward compensation for services rather than a true scholarship, which generally makes those amounts taxable.