My parents don’t have a ssn. They have a fake one that they use to file taxes for. While filling out the FAFSA I put zeroes for the ssn portion but when I was done filling out the information about the taxes it said there was an error because the ssn was 000-00-0000 for both parents but they filed taxes. They filed taxes using a fake ssn which is illegal I know but does that mean that I can put in the FAFSA form that they dont file taxes? Or will it affect me because they claim me as their dependent. I NEED HELP
@kelsmom Can you advise this student?
Are you saying that your parents are using a Tax ID? or are they using someone else’s SSN?
Okay - I am not sure how your parents filed tax returns with fake SSNs. Did they receive their pay under someone else’s name, and did those persons file tax returns on their behalf? If not, did they file their tax returns using their own ITINs? If so, you will enter their tax info, but their SSN will be all 0’s. Your parents cannot get an FSA ID, and you will have to print off a signature page, have them sign it, and mail it in.
This is the 2nd or 3rd thread we’ve seen like this in recent weeks. Students claiming that their undocumented parents are using “fake SSNs”. Now maybe this is a language issue, but it sounds like some people are actually using someone else’s SSNs…maybe some people are “giving” their SSNs to “use”?
When someone uses an ITIN, but then puts all zeroes into FAFSA, is there an error message because the ITIN doesn’t match all zeroes? Or is the online FAFSA set up so that it recognizes an ITIN number and then expects to see all zeroes for SSN?
The online FAFSA does not recognize an ITIN. The student has to use 000-00-0000. The IRS link will not work for students whose parents have an ITIN.
It is true that some workers (not all of them undocumented) use SSNs that belong/belonged to someone else. An ITIN wouldn’t work for someone who is payrolled.
This isn’t the correct place to seek specific information about such an important issue but one that most posters here have little expertise in. Political conflict notwithstanding, there is a big effort on the part of most people involved in education and immigration to ensure that students with parents who are in the country illegally are not closed out of college. There are agencies expressly suited to address these concerns. If you live in a community where there are others in the same boat, you know those agencies and should access them.
The number of recent posts/thread with this same question makes me wonder if there is another agenda.
To make sure that you are getting the aid that you are entitled to/need, one of the things that your parents should do is to go to the IRS or SSA to get their own Individual Taxpayer Identification Number so that they can legally file their taxes.
https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/General-ITIN-Information
Filing their taxes correctly and legally will go a long way in helping them to legitimize their status in the U.S.
Keep in mind that DAPA Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) is going to the supreme court this spring along with the expansion of DACA. if it is passed, your parents want to be on the right side of the law for this issue.
Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) is an immigration benefit for certain undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. DAPA provides employment authorization (work permit) and protection from deportation for a renewable three-year period.
Eligibility for the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) Program
Has a son or daughter who was a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident as of November 20, 2014
Has lived continuously in the United States since January 1, 2010, and up until applying for DAPA
Was physically present in the United States on November 20, 2014, and at the time of making the deferred action request
Has no lawful status on November 20, 2014
Is not an enforcement priority as according to the new enforcement policy
Presents no other factors that makes a grant of deferred action inappropriate
Many people use stolen or made up SSN’s for work and even to file taxes. It sometimes takes years to discover. We can’t advise these students how to correct it or how to file. As stated above, all the student can do is use 000-00-0000 and submit a paper return. The student is caught in a situation of lying that the parent doesn’t file taxes or admitting that the parents are using false SSNs.
I don’t understand why this is such a surprise. It has been a problem for decades.
Hello. So I feel like the conversation is going a whole different direction. I have been helping students with undocumented parents complete fafsas and I know the issue the original post if referring to. Recently I had a parent who had an ITIN but we have to enter 0’s that is fine I’ve known that for awhile. However this year there seems to be an issue with taxes and zeros as a social Fafsa says there is an error basically asking how you file with out a social and does not let you move forward to the signature page. I am currently attempting to find an answer to this problem and once I find it out I will happily post this information.
@vortiz31 Thank you. When you find out, please share.
It may seem like the thread was going in another direction, but it probably was because we’ve recently seen these questions. We weren’t sure if parents were calling their ITIN numbers “fake SSNs”…or if they were truly using someone else’s SSN.
There are indeed people using social security numbers which belong to other people. OP- we’d like to help if you can clarify (without posting any identifying data) exactly what your situation is.
@vortiz31 - I took a look at the new FAFSA website, and I couldn’t figure out how to print out a signature page to get a parent PIN. That used to be relatively easy to find on the old FAFSA website. It seems to me that students in this situation will have to print out and file a paper FAFSA now.
Can you still do this: Just opt to submit without signatures
Well the issue that I have been coming across is that the system will not let you get to the signature page for the student or the parent. Even if a parent entered their ITIN it would allow them and then the fafsa would be received at the school as rejected. But this issue is that the fafsa sees the 0’s and filing taxes as an error and currently I have not seen a way past the error screen to have the student sign and the parent print the signature page. Still searching with no luck.
I certainly don’t condone this in any way, but I’m a little confused why these folks who are willing to use fake SSNs to file taxes wouldn’t just use the same fake SSNs to file FAFSA? For these folks, wouldn’t that have been the most obvious route to take?
@adlgel The reason they cannot enter the fake social is because they fafsa may come back as rejected. The name and the social provided would not match up causing additional issues.
Then aren’t their taxes rejected as well? Guess I just don’t understand how you can successfully file taxes with a fake SSN.
You can’t but the IRS put in a program a few years ago to ‘push out’ returns as fast as they can. There do some matching, but a lot gets through undetected. About 10 years ago I used the wrong SSN for one of my daughters, and the IRS just disallowed all credits and deductions claimed because of her - child care, dependent, child credit, so suddenly I owed $3000 in taxes. I was only off by ONE number. I’ve know people to get them rejected because the name doesn’t match because the SSN was never corrected after a marriage, and those people had been using the new name for 20 years.
It’s just spotty. The FAFSA ID is specifically checking for a match, and if in doubt, the ID just isn’t issued. Last year it took me 3 tries to get my ID because I didn’t notice I’d reversed the last two digits of my DOB, and it took my daughter 3 tries (and thus 3 weeks) to get hers because she put in the wrong SSN but because the info was *** out, we couldn’t find the mistake. She has a double first name and I thought the mistake was that they had the wrong initial for a middle initial or something else (she is naturalized, so thought that might be an issue even though it never has been), so she resubmitted with her name a few different ways. Just a typo.