I am a long time lurker but first time poster. My son is a senior in high school and applying to 2 colleges that require the CSS profile in addition to the FAFSA. I have completed the FAFSA and the CSS profile but not submitted the profile yet as I have a few questions. I have emailed the GRASP financial aid coordinator that works at my son’s school but thought I would ask here as you guys seem to have so much knowledge and will probably be quicker to respond. This is my first kid going to college so I apologize if any of these questions are dumb.
My husband is our main breadwinner and has a decent salary with a normal W-2 form. Over the years I have worked several part time jobs so that I have the flexibility of being home with my younger child when she is home from school. None of my jobs include any retirement benefits. On the questions on the profile concerning my retirement plans I marked that I plan to draw social security. Where it asks me the current value of my savings plans should I leave that part zero or somehow find out the projected amount of social security I will be receiving from the social security office?
My second job is that I am self-employed. I provide before school care in my home. I am paid in cash and file a schedule C with my 1040 each year to report the income made and pay self employment tax on it.
My third job is as an independent contractor. I am a Josten’s rep for my boss. She owns the business and pays her employees via check. We are not taxed at the time and instead of a W-2 we are given a 1099-MISC form with the income we made listed on it. I file a schedule C with my 1040 and pay self employement on this job as well. How do I answer the questions on the profile asking the percentage of the business that I own? I can’t list zero as it doesn’t let me. Do I list 100 percent as I am an independent contractor…even though I have no ownership in the business. Also when it lists the date the business started do I list my start date or when my boss started the business?
Thanks in advance for any and all help, suggestions, etc.!!
No worries… there are no dumb questions, especially concerning Profile, which is not the easiest thing to figure out.
Projected Social Security benefits do not get reported.
In order to provide you with the most accurate advice, it would be helpful if you would tell us the exact wording of the question(s) that you are having trouble with (also what section of the form it’s in).
Here’s a pretty thorough help guide for Profile (note that it’s for the 2017-2018 version, but it should still be ok):
https://finaidonline.collegeboard.com/fin/VignetteServlet/VignetteServlet.srv?relativePath=/profile/pdfs/1718_profile_faqs.pdf
Thanks! I’m on my phone now but when I get back on the desktop I will get the exact wording to the questions and go over the FAQs you sent.
BelknapPoint I think I found the info you requested. Under parent income I listed that I filed a 1040. On line 12 of the 1040 I listed the income total from the 2 businesses that I am self-employed through. On line 57 I entered the self-employment tax.
Next under parent assets there is a section that lists parent business/farm setup with 2 boxes to choose from. The first says ( ) own or operate a business that is a primary income source. The second choice says ( ) own or operate a business in addition to other work. I checked this second box as I consider these 2 jobs as extra income in addition to my subbing job for which I generally make more money and get a W-2. Next it asks me to enter the number of businesses owned or operated so I entered 2.
The first is my before school/babysitting business done in my home. I answered that I filled out the 1040 schedule C and listed my pay in the section asking for the portion of gross receipts I had earned. I left a zero for the other questions that asked the parent’s portion of the current market value, current amount owed on the business and the parent’s portion of the total expenses. This business costs nothing. The child I watch sits in my house, I feed her breakfast and then I drop her off at school. I entered the percentage of parent ownership as 100%.
The tricky part for me is my third job. The name of the business is named after my boss and lists her address on my 1099 form. The profile asks for the name of the parent who owns the business and the date the business was started. Do I answer myself? I don’t own the business since my boss owns it but since I’m an independent contractor does that mean for the sake of the profile that I DO own this business? If so do I mark the date the business was started as the day I started working there rather than the date my boss started the business?
For the rest of the questions concerning this job I gave the dollar amount I earned where it asked me to list the portion of gross receipts for the business. However where it asked for the parent’s portion of current market value, current amount owed on the business, and parent’s portion of total expenses I left those as a zero.
Thanks so much for any help and please let me know if you need any more info.
Thanks!!!
You are not an employee for the Josten’s job since you get a 1099 not a w-2. I visualize you as a subcontractor. So you own 100% of your subcontracting business and whenever you started doing that work is the date your subcontracting business started.
As an aid to the thought process, around here a lot of people who deliver newspapers are paid as contractors. Obviously they don’t own the newspaper business and the delivery subcontracting has been going on long before they started and will continue after they’ve moved on. But right now they have a little business which may consist of delivering one newspaper route. They have 100% ownership in that and their business started whenever they first signed on.
It sounds like everything else you have mentioned is in order.
Alooknac thanks so much much for your help!!!
alooknac’s analysis seems pretty good to me.
One more question on this…when entering the name of the 3rd business should I enter my name and address as I’m the independent contractor or the name and address of my boss who owns the business (the name of the company listed on the 1099). Thx!!
Looking at a sample 1099, it seems your boss would be the Payer & you would be the Recipient, right? So it seems to me you would use whatever name is listed as Recipient on the 1099.