<p>Is there a way to fill out taxes so that capital gains do not show up as income, which totally messes up your EFC?</p>
<p>You cannot; it would a lie. You fill out FA forms every year, I think. This year, capital gains are part of your income. Next year, no, unless you sell more shares or some other asset. If you do not have cap gains next year, your EFC will go down. You will have to live with the higher EFC this one year.</p>
<p>Why is it unfair?</p>
<p>I don’t understand what you mean. Capital gains *are *income.</p>
<p>The FAFSA formula is heavily income driven. Yes, capital gains are income, and you pay taxes on them You also have to report interest and dividends. Your FAFSA and tax return have to be consistent. Fair or not, them’s the rules.</p>
<p>Why do you feel this is “unfair”? Capital gains are income. If you HAD the capital gains…you had to count them as income. That should not have been a surprise.</p>
<p>Why wouldn’t Capital Gains be considered income? Think of families whose whole income is derived from Capital Gains? Should they be considered to have no income for financial aid purposes? It sounds like maybe you liquidated a asset, and are now including a significant portion as income. That’s the way it works - you “gain” the increased value of your asset when you sell it. If you had sold for a loss, you would have reported that loss on your tax return, and would have had a lower income (which is why it may be a good idea to sell certain investments during fall of Senior year, to “capture” the loss).</p>
<p>Hey, is there a way to show that income isn’t income? It totally messes up my EFC. </p>
<p>:rolleyes:</p>
<p>P.S. Leona Helmsley also wants to know.</p>
<p>Typical entitlement mentality. “It negatively effects me so it is unfair.”</p>