<p>The coding in my previous post (#39) is messed up. The question i had in the post was:</p>
<p>Question: Who is paying income taxes to the host-country? Your dad? Or your dad’s employer? Is that $70k he’s earning net of local taxes?</p>
<p>You are going to have to approach each school’s financial aid office individually about your situation. I don’t know how such perks are taken into account. Here in the US, my son went to a very expensive private school that gave free tuition to long term employees’ children. That perk had a number of parents working there for very little pay. In exchange, their kids could go to the private school for free if they were admitted (and they did get some employee preferences in admissions), plus the school provided housing and meal benefits for some employees as well. </p>
<p>One of my son’s classmates was the daughter of the school maintenance staff who had been working for the school for many years. He had an apartment on the premises as he was on call for any maintenance issues 24/7 as part of his pay package. His daughter also got free tuition at the k-12 school. I do know that she qualified for a number of full financial aid packages at colleges. The cost of the private school was about $30K a year per kid,certainly not something he would have paid had he made that amount more. There are a lot of people, including university employees with such benefits so school have their way of taking this into account. </p>
<p>Find out who at W&M makes the determination as to whether a student qualifies for in state tuition and make your case to that person, and see what the decision is.</p>
<p>@BrownParent I’ve got two school on my list that are affordable and are admission safeties so I’ve got that part covered!</p>
<p>@NorthernMom61 Ah, I see. Where in the calculator do you input the benefits my dad receives? I’ve looked at the calculators just now and I can’t seem find it? </p>
<p>@Madison85 I’m not sure about that, I’ll ask him or my mom but it’s unlikely as we could just not apply for financial aid and my dad would still be able to comfortably pay his 25% of the tuition per year - the 75% of the $60K or whatever the COA is could be paid by my dad’s company - unlikely but I’ll find out. </p>
<p>@Madison85 @GMTplus7</p>
<p>My dad is going to buy a house soon and rent it out until my entire family moves here. My family isn’t planning on moving to Virginia merely because I’ll be attending university in the U.S - they’ll be moving back because my dad’s job will end in 3-5 years and we will need to return to the country where we have citizenship (the U.S) - so if colleges need proof of that, I’m sure my dad can get some paper work done by his employers to show that his job in fact will end in a couple of years and that my dad plans on retiring and returning to the U.S. </p>
<p>@GMTplus7 My dad doesn’t pay taxes of any sort in the county we reside in (Saudi Arabia) as there are no taxes - so my dad nor my dad’s employer pays tax. So the $70K income is what my dad earns without tax. He only pays the U.S taxes he’s required to pay as U.S citizen living abroad.</p>
<p>I’ll ask what my dad ‘‘other income’’ value is. So I can get an accurate value from the NPCs - should I add to the part that asks about total wages, salaries etc? Or to the part that asks about the income parent 1 earns from work? </p>
<p>@cptofthehouse Okay. I’ll get my dad to write out our situation and I’ll email it to every college that I’m considering applying to that I need aid for. I’ll also contact the people who are responsible for deciding on whether I qualify for in-state tuition/applicant at UVA, W&M and GMU. </p>
<hr>
<p>I just thought of the fact that I should probably ask my guidance counselor once we start our university classes next term about whether colleges include benefits as total income - I’m sure she’ll know the answer as majority of the people in my school are expats and she’s been through the process a ton. I’ll also PM the person someone mentioned on here that works in financial aid. </p>
<p>It absolutely will NOT matter if your dad buys a house in VA. It would have to be your primary residence. Your parents would have to live there. Additionally, they would have to actually live i n the state of VA for 12 months before you would be considered in state. </p>
<p>We moved in and out of the state of VA multiple times. We moved back there once when we had a college age student. He was OOS b/c we had not resided there for 12 months prior to enrollment.</p>
<p>@Mom2aphysicsgeek I get that it’s highly unlikely that I’ll considered an instate applicant but there is a slight possibility. But if they say I’m an OOS applicant - is there any chance I’ll be able to receive instate tuition as a sophomore, junior or senior? Or will I only be considered a resident when my parents move back to VA? </p>
<p>@pink997 For example, Harvard’s NPC has a place to enter total of those benefits as additional income a few lines below the place where you enter your parent’s income. Some of the others have a place to enter housing benefits. Also on the CSS Profile you will be asked for that specific information, it is very detailed. We too worked in Saudi about 15 years ago and while it was a private company then instead of govt service now I suspect we would be in a similar situation. For Americans overseas the benefits are great, that is what makes the job and living in some places worthwhile. It is difficult to demonstrate need for financial aid, we make too much to qualify but not enough to afford COA at expensive schools. </p>
<p>
Then he’s paying ZERO income taxes. ZERO to the US because $70k is below the foreign earned income exclusion. And ZERO to the KSA, bcs it has no income tax. </p>
<p>The reason the NPC is giving u a result lower than your dad can pay is that it is geared towards US households which would have US federal, state & local taxes withheld, then would have to pay housing and living expenses from the balance, leaving little left for discretionary spending. Your family’s 70k gross income is essentially 70k net income and available for 70k discretionary spending.</p>
<p>The problem is basically that your father did once establish Virginia residency, which does not <em>automatically</em> end when he goes elsewhere. He is not looking to establish or re-establish residency, he is looking to prove that his residency should be considered maintained all along. The problem is demonstrating by clear and convincing evidence that it has been his intention all along to return to Virginia when his overseas work assignment ended.</p>
<p>This is not an issue for the Financial Aid office; they do NOT determine residency. There is a separate office to determine in-state status (which determination they then tell to Admissions for use in admissions decisions and to the FA office for use in determining FA). Your circumstances are unusual; presumably, your father does not have any of the usual indications of intent (VA driver’s licence, VA vehicle title and registration, registered to vote in VA, regularly filing VA tax returns, accepting a written job offer for a job in VA, leaving the state only on military orders, etc.). </p>
<p>You need to contact the schools directly and ask what evidence is clear and convincing enough to satisfy them of your father’s intent to return. At W&M I believe it is determined by the Office of the University Registrar. At UVA I believe it is determined by the Committee on Virginia Status.</p>
<p>@GMTplus7 My dad still has to pay expenses with his $70K income - part of our school fees, rent, medical expenses etc, as I stated before my dad’s employer only pays for certain thing partially and doesn’t even pay for some expenses at all as they have a limit to the amount of expenses they pay. For example - my previous schools fees were 15K/year so then my dad’s company paid around 75% of that, but since my new school’s fees are 20K/year they pay a lower %. Plus, my dad supports both his parents completely (and they live separately), pays school/college tuition for several of my cousins and supports some of my really poor relatives financially. So as you can see there isn’t much income left for free use - hopefully these circumstances are taken into consideration by colleges. </p>
<p>And yes, I know, I’ve got a lot of thing working against me. I just hope everything works out for me! </p>
<p>@FCCDAD I get what you’re saying. I emailed back the Domicile officer (the one who works in the Office of University Registrar) - the same one that I emailed previously. I just realised that I never specified how long my dad has worked abroad in the original email, I mentioned it this time and I also asked about what qualifies as intent to return to VA indefinitely. Once I get a reply, I’ll update you guys. </p>
<p>I actually think my dad has some of the things you mentioned that indicate intent. </p>
<p>It likely won’t matter that your father is choosing to fully support his parents with his income, pay school fees for your cousins and support other poor relatives. It seems to me that asking a college or university to take into consideration that your dad supports all these people (and to give you more grant money) is like asking the school to pay the costs of supporting your grandparents, cousins and other poor relatives.</p>
<p>@Madison85 My dad isn’t CHOOSING to support my grandparents (they can’t support themselves, they’re really old/ill and live in a war torn country), he has to support them as no-one else in my immediate family (i.e. my dad’s siblings) is able to because they can barely support themselves let alone other other so the burden falls on my dad as he’s much better off than all my aunts/uncles.-> Still won’t be taken into consideration? But you’re right, my dad is choosing to support the other relatives. </p>
<p>No, it won’t be taken into consideration. </p>
<p>You will be an instate student in VA when they determine you have met the requirements, and normally that is for the family of a dependent student to live there 12 months before the state of a term. If you start as a freshman in Sept 2016, and then your family moves in 2017, it is unlikely you’d be granted instate status before Sept 2018.</p>
<p>^ If his father lived in VA for 12 months before going overseas, he established VA residency then. The question is whether they will determine he has kept it or not.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.schev.edu/Students/VAdomicileguidelines.asp”>http://www.schev.edu/Students/VAdomicileguidelines.asp</a> provides:</p>
<p>"B. Once a person has established domicile in Virginia, actual residence here is no longer necessarily required.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Temporary absence from the state does not negate a claim of Virginia domicile unless the person does something incompatible with having Virginia domiciliary intent or otherwise indicating an intent to establish domicile in another state.</p></li>
<li><p>A person who has established Virginia domicile but resides in another state may be required by laws of the host state to fulfill certain obligations of the host state. Performing acts in the host state required by law of all residents, irrespective of domicile, does not automatically constitute an abandonment of Virginia domicile; however, such acts will need to be examined to determine if they were voluntary.</p></li>
<li><p>The question is whether an individual’s acts, especially voluntary acts, show the establishment of a new domicile in the host state and abandonment of Virginia domicile."</p></li>
</ol>
<p>–</p>
<p>"D. It is important to reiterate the reference to clear and convincing evidence. A student who claims Virginia domicile must support that claim by clear and convincing evidence. Clear and convincing evidence is not as stringent a standard as proof beyond a reasonable doubt, as required in the criminal context, but is a degree of proof higher than a mere preponderance of the evidence. Clear and convincing evidence is that degree of proof that will produce a firm conviction or a firm belief as to the facts sought to be established. The evidence must justify the claim both clearly and convincingly. Failure to provide “clear and convincing” evidence fails the required standard and will result in the student being classified as out-of-state.</p>
<p>E. Section 23-7.4 of the Code of Virginia includes a list of objective conduct that must be considered, if applicable, in evaluating a claim of domiciliary intent. Necessarily, each of the objective criteria will not carry the same weight or importance in an individual case. No one factor is necessarily determinative but should be considered as part of the totality of evidence presented. In addition to considering the statutorily mandated factors, institutions may consider other relevant factors, such as voting in state and local elections, to determine whether the student has established Virginia domicile by clear and convincing evidence. The objective criteria that may be relevant include the following:</p>
<ol>
<li>Continuous residence for at least one year immediately prior to the date of alleged entitlement. </li>
<li>State to which income taxes are filed or paid.</li>
<li>Driver’s license.</li>
<li>Motor vehicle registration.</li>
<li>Voter registration.</li>
<li>Employment.</li>
<li>Ownership of real property.</li>
<li>Sources of financial support.</li>
<li>Military records.</li>
<li>Accepting a written offer of employment with a Virginia employer.</li>
<li>Social and economic relationships."</li>
</ol>
<p>
</p>
<p>Your dad’s employer takes care of the majority of your high school expenses, part of your family’s rent, plus whatever other benefits he gets that haven’t been listed, pays your dad $70k/year on top of that, and your family pays no taxes. Many people in the US make less than $70k and have to cover all their school, housing, medical fees, and whatever financial support they give to their families, yet get no need-based aid from colleges. I don’t really understand why you think you should. Your family has enough discretionary income for your dad to support not only his parents but pay school and college tuition for several cousins and support other relatives as well. I don’t think the college or VA taxpayers will be happy subsidizing any of that, nor should they have to; whether the colleges will or not is up to them. You’ll have to contact them, directly, I think, to ask how much they’re willing to help cover your expenses. </p>
<p>@FCCDAD Thank you for that! I’ll show it to my dad.</p>
<p>@austinmshauri Okay, so I found out what my dad’s other income (benefits) is - $95000. So total income is $165000. So which of these am I supposed to input the $95K value?</p>
<p>-How much did your parents receive in other tax credits and benefits? See Help (?) for a complete list of items to include
-How much did your parents contribute to non-taxable retirement plans and/or receive in untaxed income and benefits, such as child support for the most recent tax year? See Help (?) for a complete list of items to include. </p>
<p>(I tried to copy the list of items but it wouldn’t let me)</p>
<p>So which one? But the thing is I opened the help box and my dad said none of it applies and he did refer to lines the help box suggested on his tax form and it showed zero and not $95K…?? But $95K is listed under other income on the tax form. Am I supposed to include it or not? </p>
<p>If I include it on either of those lines my EFC is $40K+. OMYGOD! That can’t be, my family can’t afford that, no way! I hope I inputted something incorrectly and that that isn’t my actual EFC. </p>
<p>$40k EFC sounds realistic. </p>
<p>A lot of American expat families repatriate in time to reestablish state residency for college. Or if they continue as expats they either bite the fullpay bullet or pursue merit aid colleges. </p>
<p>Welcome to college application financial reality 101. It is the reality of the majority of college students…college selection does not start with where they really fit or really want to go, but the prism of where they can afford. </p>
<p>Your issue is you haven’t had a domicile in VA for 18-20 years. You haven’t. We have relatives who are expats. They actually own a house in a state…and all had driver’s licenses from that same state. They were NOT granted instate status for tuition purposes at the instate public universities in the state.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine how you would be able to say you have a domicile in VA. Have you EVER loved in VA? It doesn’t sound like it.</p>
<p>Temporary is not 18-20 years while owning no property in the state and paying no state income taxes to that state.</p>
<p>The OP pm’d me, and I suggested she email each school to ask for advice specifically geared to her question. This is not a common situation as far as CC folks go, but I am certain these schools have dealt with it before & will have excellent info for the OP regarding their own policies and treatment of the income/benefits.</p>