<p>I have struggled and struggled with these forms. I told a friend, "I don't want to lie, but I can't even tell what the truth is!"</p>
<p>For bank balances, do I just give them what the bank says today or do I subtract the very large outstanding checks that haven't cleared yet? I don't want to wait for them to clear because I'll get paid again soon and that'll goof it up again.</p>
<p>When it asks for other untaxed income not otherwise listed on the form and gives examples like the black lung fund do they expect us to list gifts we've received from family and stuff like that??? My family received a lot of gifts due to our business having very low income this year, do we need to list those? It looks like the student does include gifts given to him, but the parent does not. Does anyone know????</p>
<p>I have called College Board 3 times and the FAFSA folks even more than that about the gift issue. Be careful: their answers vary from service rep. to service rep!</p>
<p>I am confident now in getting an accurate answer, though:</p>
<p>For the CSS Profile, you include cash gifts. They don't expect you to report the $25 Aunt Millie gave you for your birthday, but anything "substantial" should be reported. You can also explain it in the "explanations" section.</p>
<p>For the FAFSA, parents do not, but students do. </p>
<p>I can give the question numbers and wordings that apply if needed...they are on the worksheets...</p>
<p>This has taken me several days to track down, but I think I've got answers now. </p>
<p>The paper FAFSA has the line for "Cash received or bills paid on you behalf" X'd out for the parents. This was explained toward the end of this page on an unrelated topic: FinAid</a> | Professional Judgment | Cash Support from the Student's Parents Evidently cash gifts or support to the <em>parents</em> are not included in income calculations - they are not something a family has under their control or can depend on for the future.</p>
<p>For the PROFILE, if from within the PROFILE application, you click on Help Desk at the top, then click on Frequently Asked Questions About the Application Questions, look under the section for Student's 2007 Income & Benefits (SI). There is a question there:</p>
<p>"Q. I received a gift of $500 from a friend of the family. Should I include this as part of my income?</p>
<p>A: Do not report the gift in more than one question on your PROFILE Application. If you included the gift as an asset in Section SA, do not in Section SI. Otherwise, it should be included in the amount reported as "other" income in SI-160."</p>
<p>I think this is plain that if a student may merely reflect a gift in his savings account as an asset, that the parents do not need to report it as income. This is really good, because a little increased income can really change the picture for a lower income family who is close to the income protection limit but not over it, whereas assets don't change it as much.</p>
<p>What about if you later correct your income and taxes (after filing your tax return). Can you use TODAY's cash/checking/investments, even though your final FAFSA will be considered complete in February or March?</p>
<p>Yes - FAFSA specifically says not to change the savings account/investments, etc. balances. They are as of the date that you submitted the form.</p>
<p>On page 17, the Federal FAFSA Application and Verification Guide states:
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The student also must report any money paid to someone else on his behalf. For example, if a friend or relative pays his electric bill or part of his rent, he must report the amount as untaxed income. If he is living with a friend who pays the rent and the student’s name is on the lease, the rent paid on his behalf counts as cash support because he is responsible for payments that his friend is making. Note that the column for parents’ information is marked out for this line item—only the student reports this information.
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From the horses' mouth - cash gifts to parents are not reported.</p>