<p>"Don't mention retirement assets: The FAFSA doesn't want to know about money that you have in such vehicles as 401(k) plans, Individual Retirement Accounts and other qualified retirement plans. If you mention these assets on your FAFSA, your chances for need-based financial aid will shrink.</p>
<p>No home equity: The FAFSA won't ask if you own your residence, so any home equity that you enjoy won't hurt your chances for need-based aid. The federal financial aid form does inquire about second homes and real estate investments.</p>
<p>Divorced? When parents are divorced or separated, make sure the right one fills out the financial aid form. The parent who is the legal custodial guardian won't necessarily be the one to complete the FAFSA. The parent responsible for filling out the form will be the one who has lived with the student for most of the year. Ideally, the divorced or separated parent who handles the FAFSA will be the one with the lowest income."</p>
<p>Don’t forget that if the divorced parent is remarried, you must include the stepparent’s income/asset information. </p>
<p>Another tip: Do NOT use a nickname! Your name must match the name associated with your social security number … which, by the way, should be correct on the FAFSA.</p>
<p>My biggest tip - answer the questions as asked - there is a reason for them!! The questions that seem to stump people a lot from what I have seen on CC:
Money earned from work. People seem to think they should not answer this as the money has been included in the AGI already. But the answer to this question is used to calculate allowances generated only by money earned from work. Primarily SS and medicare taxes. These allowances REDUCE your EFC. So not answering the question makes your EFC higher!!
WS and/or taxable scholarships included in the AGI. Again this seems to throw people as they already reported the money in the AGI. But the answer to this question is used to REDUCE income before the EFC is calculated. Not **answering **it will make your EFC higher!</p>
<p>There are reasons for the questions. Some of them are used to exclude certain items from your EFC calculation. Answer the questions. It is not rocket science.</p>
<p>It seems like 99% of the problems/questions people come up with could be avoided by simply having the instructions open and referring to them as they go along. The sidebar instructions are a big help, but there’s more depth in the instructions found here:</p>
<p>“Don’t mention retirement assets: The FAFSA doesn’t want to know about money that you have in such vehicles as 401(k) plans, Individual Retirement Accounts and other qualified retirement plans. If you mention these assets on your FAFSA, your chances for need-based financial aid will shrink.”</p>
<p>So on line 92 about ‘parent untaxed income’ (payments to tax-deferred pension and savings plans), I put what we contributed this year since it’s on the tax forms. We’re supposed to declare the annual contribution to the 401K, IRAs, etc. but just not mention the total assets in the 401K, IRAs, etc., right?</p>
<p>That’s how I read it, they don’t want to know what you have in total, but if you contributed for example, 3,000 in a retirement account at work, untaxed, what was that amount.</p>
<p>I’m wondering if the FAFSA folks will demand that I have my son’s father fill in his income and his wife’s SS Disability income? I was never married to the man, and we have no legal document that states who is the Custodial parent. My son lives with me, and now lives part time, maybe half time over at his fathers’ house in the same town. IF his dad and his wife HAVE to add their income, then we are totally 100% doomed and will never, ever get any kind of Federal student loan. I don’t have a dime to give to my son. I survive by my one income in my own small home.<br>
I don’t even think my son will qualify with my income alone. I have a decent job, but I have ZERO in savings due to many thousands of dollars of lawyer debt I was forced to accrue and now I’m desperately trying to pay that off the credit cards I was forced to use. </p>
<p>I receive no child support. No other income. I used to have a 2nd job, but have been laid off for nearly a year. Still, my first main job brings in a decent salary. It seems it all goes by income. An on-line EFC calculator told me I was responsible (me alone) for $8,000 per year to give to my son. I do not have $8,000 and cannot imagine how I’d pay that. I have barely anything put away in my small 401K, just a couple thousand. And I will be retiring in about 12-14 years. </p>
<p>If I just leave off his father’s address / name, will they still force me to send the FAFSA form to his home and have him and his wife fill out their income and assests???</p>
<p>Carrie, FAFSA only asks for income from the parent with whom the student lives 51% of the year. So make sure your son spends at least 183 nights of the year with you, and his father’s income will not be considered by FAFSA. </p>
<p>Some other financial aid calculations (notably the CSS form) may ask for his father’s information, but many schools don’t use that methodology.</p>
<p>Will his father contribute to his college costs?</p>
<p>@kelsmom – I entered the amount I found on my W-2 from box 12b, code D, which raised my EFC significantly! So I checked the instructions for line 92 in the FAFSA guide that sk8rmom provided the link for (^) and we are required to enter the amount from W-2 boxes 12a,b,c,d; codes D,E,F,G,H, and S. (I would rather follow your rule!)</p>
<p>So even though I DID contribute to a retirement plan in 2012… (401K). If nothing comes up on line 32 of my 1040, and boxes 12a,12b,12c,12d on my W2 form shows nothing, that box is completely empty, then I just put $0.00 for that question on the FAFSA about tax-deferred… I am scared and nervous about this freaking form.</p>
<p>FYI for the future, it would have been better to start a new thread rather than revive a year old one.</p>
<p>You contributed pre-tax to a 401k through your employer or is your 401k a Roth? I haven’t received a W-2 in a couple years but as I recall my pre-tax 401k contribution always showed in Box 14 with the D code and an amount. If you did contribute pre-tax and the pre-tax contribution doesn’t show on your W-2 I would contact your employer about a corrected W-2. If it’s a Roth 401k then you didn’t get any tax advantage so the amount doesn’t have to be added back in to your AGI. Though with a Roth 401k it looks like you should have an AA code in box 14.</p>
<p>I have never used this so didn’t realize it’s an old thread. </p>
<p>I called my employer, they said follow directions on the FAFSA, if nothing shows in boxes 12a,b,c,d,e,f… then write $0 on the line. But I DID contribute to a 401 K and it is not a Roth IRA. </p>
<p>Argh. </p>
<p>Don’t want to report money that I dont’ need to… but my employer’s answer didn’t help me much.</p>
<p>Your question to your employer should not be “how should I fill out the FAFSA?” but “why does my W-2 not have a Code D amount in Box 12, since I’ve been contributing to my 401(k)?”</p>
<p>Your pay stubs should show year to date contributions to your 401K. What does your last paycheck of the year show for YTD contributions? Your W-2 should reflect this number.</p>
<p>If your federal wages and medicare wages match on your W2 and you contributed to a 401k pre-tax, there is a problem with your W2. Your federal wages + your 401k contribution (up to the 2012 limit of $17,000 or 22,000 for catch-up) should add up to your medicare wages. Did you contribute to your 401k on an after-tax basis? That is the only reason I can think of that it wouldn’t be on your W2.</p>
<p>Since this is resurrected, my opinion, but there are probably experts who know the answer. I contribute a significant chunk of money to my state retirement, which doesn’t appear in box 12 or line 32. I have always reported it on FAFSA because I think it is supposed to be reported. Love to have somebody tell me I shouldn’t, but it is still retirement contributions in that year whether it appears on W-2 specifically or not. The big difference between box 1 and box 3 on W-2 needs to be accounted for. Experts? I would love to lower my EFC but I think you report it.</p>