But is there a retirement contribution subtraction on page 1 of the 1040 in the bottom section (deductions for AGI)?
My grandparents only receive food stamps from the government. No medicare, no social security, no pension, no savings. My grandfather works in construction but doesn’t make enough to support himself and my grandmother if they were to live out on their own.
I would assume that the GP’s receipt of food stamps is evidence that the OP’s parents are providing more than 51% of the support. If they attested to this by including them on the household size verification form - I would ask the OP’s parent to write this up and sign the statement, as well - I would accept that. I cannot say that other schools would make the same determination.
@kelsmom Thank you
@Madison85 the only thing there is “deductible part of self-employment tax” at $2,659 and nothing else. Is this the deduction that @“Erin’s Dad” and @thumper1 were talking about? The only other deduction I see is the “married filing jointly” deduction.
Businesses owned by individuals will frequently deduct things like cell phone charges or car mileage as being a cost of their business which brings down the net income. Deductions like those which are not allowed for general families will be added back in. The list of deductions that gets added back will vary by college. I hope that clarifies.
@“Erin’s Dad” Oh, okay. Thank you! Do you know where I might be able to find that specifically; and would that be on the 1040 or the Schedule C?
Edit: So my dad is a truck driver. Are the things you’re talking about like “phone used for business” (which is not his personal phone that has unlimited calls) and “gloves/boots” for work? These are listed as “expenses.”
Things that your dad can likely deduct as a truck driver (mine was too)…meals, phone, lodging. But only if HE is paying for these. If he works for a company, and they pay these…not deductible.
But things like meals and a cell phone would likely get added back in for financial,aid purposes. Simply put…all of us have to have meals. The IRS would allow this as a business deduction for your dad…but financial aid might not.
At the vast majority of schools, the only info used to award aid is FAFSA - so there is no need to worry about deductions being added back in. Schools that require the Profile and schools that are FAFSA-only but collect paper copies of all tax returns are the ones likely to add back deductions (FAFSA-only that doesn’t collect the paper returns won’t have access to the deduction info …). If in doubt, talk to a financial aid professional at the school(s) you hope to attend.
@thumper1 Oh, I get it. If what you’re saying is true, then the universities should add in little to no deductions back into our income since Dad brings meals from home and rarely ever stays the night for work. He does have to pay for everything himself though since he’s technically self-employed, just a contractor with a company.