Hey!
My dad is a pediatrician.
He is self-employed. He doesn’t get a ‘salary’ from his office, he just puts the benefits of his office in his pocket after paying taxes. In my country this is totally legal.
In the question ‘parent income (salary, wages, tips)’, should I indicate the benefits made by his business? And then add the business expenses to this number and write it in the ‘business gross income’? By doing so, his income will be reported in 2 different sections of the css, and I’m worried that the colleges will sum up the two numbers (count his benefits twice) to calculate what he earns. It would appear as if he earns twice what he actually earns.
I saw someone having the same struggle on the forum but he didn’t get any answer.
The money your dad “pockets” from his medical practice would be considered income here.
I saw the other thread, and agree that your parent should be helping do this Profile. You will need clear and good records of what your dad “pocketed” and what the business earned from 2018.
Thank you so much thumper!
And euhm I have one last question, should I add my dad’s income to the business expenses?
I am not self employed…but hoping someone who is can give you guidance here.
@happymomof1 this international student needs help too!
@BelknapPoint how is this all differentiated on the schedules and tax returns here?
That would depend on many different things, most significantly what kind of entity is at hand… sole proprietership, LLC, C corp, S corp, etc. Trying to base a foreign business practice and the related tax issues on US tax procedures is an exercise in futility. As suggested, OP should engage his father in this task, and if necessary contact the help desk at CSS.
First, thank you so much for your help!! It is extremely helpful!
@BelknapPoint @thumper1
I checked the definition of ‘sole proprietership’, and yayyy that’s exactly the type of business than my dad’s office can be considered as!
So,considering that we have to do with sole proprietership, what should I put in my dad’s income, and should I add my dad’s income to his business expenses?
Your dad really needs to be doing this, or you should do it together. Does he even know what you are filling out? Are you the same poster as the Tunisian kid thread?
Hey sybyllla, yes my dad knows what I am doing. He gave me all his documents (tax return etc…) to fill the CSS. Unfortunately, he doesn’t speak English and can’t help me with it. And no I’m not the same person, but I know the other tunisian guy. He is my neighbor and we both have kind of the same problem. He suggested me to post in this forum to get help so here I am.
@@.
Really, your dad is a highly educated medical professional with his own business, he needs to participate, does he have an accountant? If you are expecting aid based on the CSS, you need to do it properly. In many cases, a pediatrician with his own business would not be a candidate for being a FA family, so it is imperative this is done correctly.
Maybe you and your neighbour and all your parents can sit down together, hey? This is not a job for a kid.
@Sybylla the thing is, we do know all the numbers, taxes, income, etc… But the problem is with the CSS profile: it is not clear, and the “income from work” section has several possible interpretations in our case (as stated above)( same goes for business expenses). My dad is trying to help me, but he doesn’t know what to put either. The CSS Profile is not clear and explicit enough on what it wants us to put in each section (income from work/ business expense).
I understand this may be weird for you, and that you are not used to seeing this kind of problems, but yeah… I have to deal with that by myself and no one, except you guys, can help me. And I have to do it by January 1st 
. I emailed CollegeBoard but not sure I’m gonna have an answer before my deadline…
So yeah… I don’t really know what to do here…
Yup same. I’ll try to ask my dad too later tonight but I don’t think he’s gonna be able to help me.
What are the odds that the term “sole proprietorship” has the exact same legal/financial/tax definition in Tunisia as it does in the United States? I have no idea.
Have you gone thru the presentation accessed from the link on this page? https://cssprofile.collegeboard.org/international-applicants
If not, it may help.
Also, take a look at the guidedpath.net CSS profile presentation for internationals at this link: https://guidedpath.net/answers-on-the-college-board-financial-aid-application-the-profile-for-international-parents/
Google it if the link is not allowed.
I talked with @Klay76 , and we’re both gonna fill in the CSS by putting all our parent’s earnings in the parent income section, and in the business section. Then we’re gonna explain that we reported our parents’ income twice in the “special circumstances” section. The universities will probably understand it.
Thank you guys
It may not be best to report the same income twice on the CSS, since it cannot be modified after it is submitted to colleges. Any corrections must be communicated individually to colleges/unis.
Might it be better to report the income in one of the sections, and still explain the situation in the special circumstances section?
@mamag2855 okay will do that. Thank you!
https://www.amideast.org/tunisia is where you should be able to get some help with this. Contact the office closest to you, and find out who there can help you work through the CSS Profile. Good luck!
Please contact these folks BEFORE you submit your Profile. It’s important to get it done the right way. Once submitted, you cannot make changes to the Profile online. Any errors will need to be corrected using each college’s guidelines…and this could also delay you getting your financial aid award.
So…contact the folks @happymomof1 suggested (thank you to her for again posting this) and get it right.
Hey guys!
We’ll contact Amideast. Thank you so much for your help once again!