Hey, so I’ve been working on my CSS financial aid profile and I’m doing the tax part for my parents. However, they both filed separate tax forms AND the type of form they did is different as well.
My dad filed the 1040
My mom filed the 1040EZ
So, in the part where it says “Select the type of federal income tax return the student’s parents filed, or will file, for 2017”, which do I choose? On the sidebar question thing it said to choose the more complex one. But, what makes it complex? Does it mean like the longer one or is it referring to the form that has the most information filled out? Because my dad has a longer form but my mom has more numbers involved…
What do I put for the part that says “Select the student’s parents’ federal tax filing status for 2017”?
Because my parents aren’t married, and they both filed different forms.
The options that it gives me are:
-Married, filing joint return
-Head of household
-Single
-Married, filing separate returns
-Qualified widower with dependent child
I would put 1040. It’s the more complex of the two tax forms. The bulk of your support probably came from the parent who filed that 1040 as well.
In terms of filing status…ask your parents what they checked off on the tax returns they filed. Since they are not married, I would guess…single or maybe H of H…but you need to ask your parents…or LOOK at the 2017 tax returns. Where are you getting all of the info for the FAFSA form?
Just so you know…both parent incomes and assets belong on your FAFSA because you all live together. Because they aren’t married, and filed separate returns, you will not be able to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool with your FAFSA. So…both of your parents should order a tax transcript…NOW.