<p>Calling out for HELP to all the CSS form experts (or future accountants)....</p>
<p>Line PI-140D says "Estimate the income tax your parents will pay for 2010 using their 2009 IRS Form 1040, line 55 and 2010 pay stubs and other financial documents." </p>
<p>We have a business that has to pay Self Employment Tax which is line 56 on the tax form.... so on the 1040 form you add lines 55 + 56 to get the "Total Tax" you pay for the year. Can I add in this SE tax for line PI-140D on the CSS?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>NO!!! You can only use the amount on line 55. I know it seems unfair, but that is how it works.</p>
<p>You can always write a note in the section that asks for comments on the CSS - indicate the line 56 taxes there, in case the school might consider that in the institutional methodogy formula.</p>
<p>Ouch - that does seem very unfair. Guess I’ll have to go back and change. Thank you.</p>
<p>It is mitigated somewhat by the fact that you get a deduction for half of your SE tax, which will lower the amount of taxes paid on line 55… but yes IMO it is completely unfair to have your EFC raised 47% of an amount that has to be paid as a tax to the gov’t.</p>
<p>The self-employed can get screwed in other ways as well, because the FA officer is free to (and will) add back in at their whim any expenses you deducted on your schedule C that they don’t like. For example if you are deducting car and mileage expenses they may disallow that on the theory that people who have a regular job and commute to work don’t get to deduct these expenses so why should you. If you are depreciating anything, this is likely to be added back in because it is considered a “phantom” expense.</p>
<p>FAFSA is the same way, the allowance they compute for FICA does not consider if you are self-employed. At least with FAFSA, if you employ less than 100 employees, the value of your business is not counted, and they don’t monkey with your expenses.</p>
<p>From hearing other peoples’ stories here, it is not usual for your EFC from the Profile to be substantially higher than your EFC from FAFSA.</p>
<p>You guys up for another one?</p>
<p>PF-115 WE “Deductible IRA and/or SEP, SIMPLE, or Keogh payments expected to be made” </p>
<p>This shows up on the worksheet for line PF-115A “Enter the amount of untaxed income and benefits your parents expect to receive in 2011”</p>
<p>Are they talking about payments my parents will make “to” these or receive “from” these, as if they were retired?</p>
<p>Could they make this any more comlicated : )</p>
<p>thank you</p>
<p>That would be the amount they expect they will be entering on lines 28 and 32 of the 1040. Those amounts are deducted from AGI on the tax return, but they are expected to be added back into the formula as income (untaxed payments to pensions from the W2 box 12 are similarly added back to income for folks who are not self employed).</p>