^^^
It almost sounds like you’re complaining about your daughter having to pay taxes on the money that someone else gives her for her room and board. Geez, I wish I could complain about something like that.
I said it was still a good deal, I just wish the price wasn’t so inflated. I’d actually like her to stay living in the dorm for another year (and she’d like it too) but it’s just too expensive. If we reduce her living expenses, we’ll reduce her taxes. Sort of like winning a car on a game show. Yes, it’s a good deal but not if you can’t afford the taxes on the prize.
The discussion started because I said ‘full ride’ doesn’t mean no cost. There is transportation, incidentals, and taxes. Always taxes.
Of course, if I win Powerball tonight it won’t be a problem. I will happily pay those taxes without complaint.
So you have two alternatives: she can pay the room and board herself, which would cost a lot more, or she can go to a less expensive school (or not go to school at all). It just appears unseemly (at least to me; I don’t pretend to speak for anyone else) to be griping about the cost of the room and board that your daughter doesn’t come close to paying full price for, instead only paying taxes on the generous benefit that she receives.
I would have started and ended with “it’s a good deal.”
Yes!
You can overpay for things if you like, BelkapPoint, but I like to only pay a fair value. What if the room and board were $100,000 but still ‘free’ to me, I just had to pay the taxes of $15k or $20k? Should I just be happy that it was still free?
Daughter doesn’t have a scholarship that provides r &b, she has a set dollar amount, so any overcharge does come out of her pocket. If room and board was $10k and not $14k, she’d have $4k of overage, leaving her with enough to pay the taxes! Just think the costs of r&b should be reasonable, getting the value of what one pays. A lot of student do pay OOP, and I think they are overcharged too.
No, you should be happy that your cost is only the taxes on the scholarship money instead of the $100k that all the families are paying that aren’t getting scholarship dollars to pay for room and board. Your daughter is getting a great deal compared to most students (as you yourself have said), and yet you complain about the tax burden of getting the free money. Well, if you don’t like paying taxes on all that free money, just decline it and pay out of pocket like most people. I’m sure there are plenty of other students who would be happy to take the scholarship dollars that would then be available, and would be grateful enough not to complain about the taxes assessed on that money.
Are you talking about the fair value of the room and board that you’re not really paying for? You’re getting a huge discount, and yet you’re complaining about the sticker price. Think about that.
It’s only free because my daughter earned it through scholarships. The value of the item isn’t $15000, it’s really $10,000, so the government is getting inflated tax payments.
If you have a coupon for 50% off an item that is worth $10 but because of the coupon is raised to $20, are you really getting a good deal? What if the item is $20 with a $10 rebate? You’ll have to pay the sales tax on the $20 purchase, plus the hassle of getting your rebate. Why not just price things fairly to begin with.
Yes, I’m complaining about being overcharged whether it is ‘free’ or not. I’m not getting room and board for free, I’m paying $3-4k for it in taxes. Better than paying $10k (true value) and certainly better than paying $14k (inflated OOP price) but not free, which is what the original point of my reply to the OP was - ‘Free ride’ does not mean free. There is always the tax man.
If most other people who want the same item aren’t fortunate enough to have a coupon like you do and are paying the $20, then yes, I say you are getting a good deal.
The fact is, you are in a better position, price wise, then pretty much everyone else who is paying for room and board. And yet you are complaining about how much you have to pay.
"Yes, I’m complaining about being overcharged whether it is ‘free’ or not. I’m not getting room and board for free, I’m paying $3-4k for it in taxes. "
Oh you poor dear- not.
as the saying goes “not all eyes will weep for you”…
I suggest you step back, stop posting about your “plight” and perhaps consider how OTHERS who CAN’T AFFORD to send their kids to college AT ALL, view your whiny, self pitying posts…
Try being grateful for what your D HAS received. Period. Full stop.
I say this as the mother of a student who received a full tuition scholarship .
I would not have even THOUGHT of complaining that he did not get a full ride, let alone one that was TAX FREE !!
unbelievable…
In addition, if I was the president of that college and got wind of your complaints, I’d be of the mind to pull that scholarship so fast and give it to another D or S whose parents would not be so inclined to “look a gift horse in the mouth”!
AGAIN, I was pointing out that FREE RIDE doesn’t mean free. There are hidden costs, taxes being one of them.
I actually PAID the overpriced room and board last year. Is it okay that I complain that it was too high last year when I actually paid those costs out of my pocket?
The meal plan is overpriced but you have to buy it. Freshmen who live in the suites with kitchens are required to buy an almost $3000/sem meal plan whether they eat at the dinning hall or cook in their apts. Upperclassmen only have to buy a $1700 plan. Why? Do sophomores eat less than freshmen? No, it’s because so many sophomores were moving off campus because it is so much cheaper. The freshmen have no choice so they pay up. The school entices the sophomores to remain on campus by reducing the required meal plan cost; the school knows the meals are overpriced and knows it has the freshmen up against a wall. Upperclassmen don’t put up with it.
I’d be happy to talk to the President of the University, who has nothing to do with FA or scholarships, about my opinion on the price of dorms and meal plans. Why shouldn’t he know that I think it costs too much? It is not a secret. I bet he eats at the dining hall for free.
The tuition scholarship IS tax free, but the r&b is not. But that is not the issue, the issue being that I’m overpaying for it (as I do pay the r&b and then pay the bill with financial aid credits). I’d be happy to have a lower r&b charge, get less in FA, and pay less in taxes. In that case, the school would get the same amount (basically a wash as school would charge $10k, credit $10k), DD would pay less in taxes (on $10k not $14k), and the IRS would get less (sad, I know). As it is, the school basically has a wash (charges $14k/ credits $14k, DD pays more in taxes, and the IRS gets more. Since when did complaining about paying taxes become a bad thing?
I do think the recipients of these scholarships have a right, maybe even a responsibility, to make sure the value is correct for what you are being charged. If you have health insurance that covers 100%, do you care that the doctor charges you $200 for a Band-Aid that should only cost $100? Aren’t you getting the same Band-Aid for the same price, $0, no matter what he charges? Too bad if your premiums go up, you are still getting a free Band-aid aren’t you? I think you do have an obligation to your insurer and your fellow group members to say “Hey, that’s too much. You are charging everyone too much, those of us with a $0 co-pay and those who are having to pay the full $200. The Band-Aid is only worth $100.” You also have a gatekeeper insurer to question the charges, where students/parents don’t have anyone questioning these charges. The school just charges what it wants and has a captive consumer group paying.
Some scholarship athletes get a free ride, but they still have to pay taxes on their r&b. Do you think they don’t care if the school charges/credits them $20k rather than $10k because it is a wash on the tuition bill anyway? $0 OOP either way. Hey, they are getting a free ride, shut up about paying taxes on something that is overpriced. Should full scholarship students at Harvard not care that they are being charged $22k for r&b that they could get for $15k in the area, since it is not money out of their pocket anyway (until tax time)? They should care. I’m sure they’d much rather pay taxes on $10k than on $20k.
I want to spend the FA daughter gets wisely. I don’t want to pay $20 for a $5 cheeseburger even if the $20 was ‘free’. (before taxes anyway). It’s fair to pay taxes on $20, I just want $20 in value. What will we do next year? Probably take the r&b financial aid money, pay taxes on the entire amount (as she does this year) but spend it more wisely living off campus and spending maybe $1000 at the grocery store per semester. She should have more money in her pocket to pay the taxes with. I’d rather she stay on campus, and I think she would too, but it’s a lot of money to pay even if it is ‘free’ (it’s not free).
If someone gives you $500, wouldn’t you try to spend it wisely? Would you buy steak for $20/lb when you could get it for $10? Why waste it just because it was a free gift?
You don’t get it. It’s your complaining about your circumstances, when others don’t have it nearly as good as you, and would gladly switch places.
“AGAIN, I was pointing out that FREE RIDE doesn’t mean free.”
So now you are complaining about FALSE ADVERTISING??
If someone wins the LOTTERY, they HAVE TO PAY TAXES.
Or do you think THAT’s unfair too??
wow, just wow…
I have NEVER in the 11 years that I have been on CC - seen a less grateful parent…
OP received several answers to her question, and thread has veered off track, so closing thread. If OP needs further clarification of filing FAFSA, please start a new thread.