Work-study earnings calculator
Hours × wage against your award, the weekly cap and the effect on the SAI.
The award, wage and hours are example inputs, not typical figures — use your award letter and your job. The tax box only feeds the Student Aid Index comparison.
What the numbers mean
Federal Work-Study (FWS) is a federal program that pays a student wages for part-time work, usually at the school or at a nonprofit or other approved employer. The award on your letter is the most you can earn through the program in the award period; it is not paid in advance. Three questions come up each term: how much you will earn at your hours, how many hours a week keep you within the award, and how work-study pay affects taxes and next year's aid. The calculator answers all three.
The formulas
Earnings = hours per week × hourly wage × weeks worked. The share of the award is earnings ÷ award. The hours cap is award ÷ (wage × weeks), which is the weekly average at which you would use the award up exactly. The Social Security and Medicare tax is 7.65% of pay (6.2% and 1.45%, the employee's half), unless the student exception applies. The Student Aid Index effect for pay from an ordinary job uses the same formula as the SAI calculator: income after income tax, payroll taxes and the $12,220 allowance, times 50%. For Federal Work-Study, that effect is zero because the FWS pay is subtracted from income in the SAI worksheet.
Worked example
You have a $3,000 award, the job pays $15 an hour, and you work 6 hours a week for 30 weeks. Your earnings are 6 × $15 × 30 = $2,700, 90% of the award. The most you could average is $3,000 ÷ ($15 × 30) = 6.67 hours a week. If the job is at the college and you are enrolled at least half time, no FICA is withheld, and you keep $2,700 before income tax. If the same job were with an off-campus employer, 7.65% would take $206.55. If you worked 10 hours a week, you would reach $4,500, $1,500 above the award. A 40-hour week, $18,000 over 30 weeks, would make you a full-time employee for the FICA exception.
Limits and common mistakes
Treating the award as a paycheck. Work-study pays only for hours you actually work. Forgetting taxes. The Handbook notes that for packaging, a school should use net earnings, after taxes and job-related costs, so a student with unmet need of $1,000 might be given a larger award to leave $1,000 after the 7.65% Social Security tax and job costs. Assuming FICA never applies. The exception covers only a student employed by the school where they are enrolled, and the Revenue Procedure's safe harbor is half-time enrollment; if you do not meet it the facts decide. Mixing up two kinds of campus jobs. Work-study pay does not raise the SAI; an ordinary campus job does, although a small amount stays under the student income allowance. Ignoring the cap. Hours above the award are not paid from work-study funds. Check the school's rules on hours per week and pay dates.
Frequently asked questions
How much can I earn with Federal Work-Study?
Your award letter shows a maximum, and the earnings stop at that figure. The Federal Student Aid Handbook says the gross amount of the award is the hours to be worked multiplied by the anticipated wage rate. With a $3,000 award and a $15 hourly wage you could work 200 hours in all: 6.67 hours a week over 30 weeks. At $15 and 6 hours a week for 30 weeks, you earn $2,700, which is 90% of the award. At 10 hours a week you would reach $4,500, $1,500 more than the award, so the school would normally cut the hours or stop paying from work-study funds. These are example numbers, not typical pay.
Is the work-study award guaranteed money?
No. It is permission to earn up to that amount, not a payment. You have to find a work-study job, work the hours, and you are paid through payroll for the time you actually work. If you do not take a job or work fewer hours, you earn less, and unused work-study is not paid out. The school sets the hours based on your financial need, your class schedule and your health and academic progress; the Handbook says there are no statutory or regulatory limits on weekly hours as long as the student is not overawarded, but that FWS is meant for part-time work and students should not often work more than 40 hours in a week.
Do I pay Social Security and Medicare tax on work-study wages?
It depends on who employs you. Under 26 CFR 31.3121(b)(10)-2 and the IRS "student exception", pay for services performed for a school, college or university by a student who is enrolled and regularly attending classes there is excepted from FICA (Social Security and Medicare) tax. IRS Revenue Procedure 2005-11 gives colleges a safe harbor: an employee enrolled at least half time has student status, but an employee whose normal work schedule is 40 hours or more a week is always a full-time employee, not a student employee. So, generally, a half-time student working at the college's library has no FICA withheld ($206.55 would be 7.65% of the example $2,700), while the same student working for an off-campus nonprofit or business has $206.55 withheld. Federal income tax is a separate matter and still applies if your taxable income is high enough.
Does work-study count as income on the FAFSA?
No for the Student Aid Index. Work-study wages appear in your adjusted gross income because they are on your W-2, but the SAI worksheet takes Federal Work-Study back out: the student's federal work-study is one of the income offsets (line i of formula A in the 2027–28 Student Aid Index and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide), along with taxable grant and scholarship aid and education credits. Wages from an ordinary job do count. The FAFSA also reads income from the prior-prior tax year, so the 2027–28 form uses 2025 income. Work-study pay adds nothing to the SAI, while pay from an ordinary job adds half of the income left after taxes and the student's allowance.
What is the minimum wage for work-study jobs?
Federal Work-Study employers must pay at least the federal minimum wage in effect, which the Handbook gives as $7.25 an hour, and the higher state or local minimum wage where it applies. The subminimum "training wage" may not be used. Fringe benefits such as paid leave cannot be counted as wages. In most cases, the school pays at least 25% of the wage and the federal government up to 75% (the federal share can differ, for example 50% at a for-profit employer), which does not change what you receive.
What happens if I want to work more than my award?
You can usually keep working, but the extra pay is not from work-study. Ask the student employment office whether the department can pay the extra hours from its own budget. In the example, 10 hours a week at $15 reaches $4,500 against a $3,000 award. Pay that comes from a regular campus job counts as ordinary income on the FAFSA. A student working $18,000 a year at a regular job would add about $2,202 to the student's part of the SAI under the same formula, before any income tax.
An estimate for planning only — not tax or financial advice; your school's payroll and financial aid office decide. Sources, checked October 28, 2026: Federal Student Aid Handbook 2026–27, volume 6, chapter 2 (award, wages, federal share, net earnings); IRS, Student Exception to FICA Tax, 26 CFR 31.3121(b)(10)-2 and Revenue Procedure 2005-11; 2027–28 Student Aid Index (SAI) and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide (work-study as an income offset). Related: the student aid index calculator, net price calculator, paycheck calculator and scholarship tax calculator. How we check our calculators.