FAFSA address - foreign or US, I have both?

Hello,

I am in the process of completing the FAFSA but I have a question about my “Permanent Mailing Address.” I have a mailbox in Florida where all of our mail goes and that is what I consider our permanent mailing address. But our residence is currently in France because we are missionaries here. We live overseas for several years, then return to the US for a year, then return overseas.

So our “Permanent Mailing Address” is in Florida, but our residence is in France. So is our “Legal Residence” our French address or our US address?

Thanks for your input.

You get to decide. Do you actually pick up the mail from Florida? Someone, a school or lender, might send you mail. Most every thing will be by email. I really can’t think of anything we’ve ever received that is important from the FAFSA address.

What address did you use on your parents’ 2017 US tax return?

Sounds like you should use Florida address. Your permanent address isn’t in France.

There are two issues here.

One is your mailing address: How quickly do you receive correspondence from the Florida PO Box? If that usually is faster and more reliable than using your local postal address in France, then use the PO box for written correspondence with the colleges and universities.

The other is your legal residence: Your legal residence (as in where you actually live) is in France. You need to make certain that the colleges and universities do know that you live in France, not in Florida. You almost certainly do not have in-state residence for tuition and fees purposes there.

For the FAFSA use the address that your parents put on their US income tax returns last year, or the one that they will be using this year (assuming you will still be abroad then). I expect it is the French address, as they are likely to be filing the foreign earned income exclusion and foreign housing deduction (IRS Form 2555).

Use the U.S. address. Foreign addresses do not play well with the federal systems … some types of records will reject when the address isn’t U.S. If you have a U.S. one, it’s best to use it.

They might. Florida has a lot of residents who aren’t present in the state. There are a lot of military whose permanent address is Florida and they receive a lot of the benefits of residents. Same with some missionaries. It really depends on a lot of other factors. The child could be enrolled in the Florida virtual school and then would be Florida hs graduates.

@kelsmom - Is FAFSA OK with PO box addresses? I never filed it with a box, just with a street address.