<p>We live in Japan, I am the step mom :-) My husbands son lives with his Japanese mother here, she has full legal custody. We pay child support voluntarily AND we claim him on our joint Tax return because she cannot. Is it correct that both my husband's and my information go on the form (as parents?) because I cannot see how it would work putting hers even though he lives with her full time? Please any help would be appreciated, just want to do the right thing. Thank you</p>
<p>As long as your stepson is a US citizen/Permanent Resident, the FAFSA will be filled out using his custodial parent (his mom’s) information. While she may not have a SSN, she will fill out the form using 000000000 in the SSN boxes. Her income should be converted to US $$. She must also add on the FAFSA any monies that she receives for child support/alimony. IF mom has also remarried, she must include her husband’s income and assets.</p>
<p>At schools that give their own institutional aid using the CSS profile & non-custodial profile, they will want the income and assets of custodial parent (her husband if married) along with the non-custodial parent and spouse (you dan dad).</p>
<p>thanks for the reply, Yes he is a US Citizen. I was told that the FAFSA is matched up against the tax return thats how they check to make sure you are telling the truth or something. Its so confusing, I dont want to get in trouble with anyone. So we had to put our info on the FAFSA because we file taxes…or something like that.ugghhh</p>
<p>Yes, tax returns are looked at, but it would be his mom’s, not yours. She is the primary caretaker.</p>
<p>The fact that you declare him on taxes is not relevant. Many non-custodial parents claim children on taxes. The feds know that. Custodial parent’s info on FAFSA. She will have to include any support that you pay on FAFSA.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that federal aid is NOT much. Certainly not enough for an American abroad to come to school in the US. He’d likely get a $5500 grant and a $5500 student loan. Obviously $11k isn’t enough to pay for tuition (either OOS or private), fees, room, board, books, travel, and int’l travel.</p>
<p>Your SS will be a non-resident for all publics, so those would charge him the high rates.</p>
<p>That said…if your SS applies to the school that give the best institutional (non federal) aid, then many of them use CSS Profile and many require the non-custodial parents’ financial info. Where will he be applying?</p>
<p>The above posters are correct. It is the *custodial *parent’s information (and their spouse if they have one) that goes on FAFSA. It does not matter who claims the student on tax returns. It is who the student lives with the most. If you look at FAFSA, the instructions are quite clear about this.</p>
<p>The FAFSA currently available is for the current 2012-2013 school year. The one for the 2013-2014 school year that starts fall 2013, will not be available until January 1st 2013.</p>
<p>Thank you all
He’s mainly applying to community colleges in Hawaii, also HPU a private and Manoa and FIU and USF. </p>
<p>His mom doesn’t file taxes because she’s Japanese will that affect anything?</p>
<p>His mom’s financial information is what will be needed. Since the FAFSA questions are based on US federal tax returns, she will need to figure out what the equivalent information is. That she doesn’t file a Japanese income tax return doesn’t matter at all.</p>
<p>There are lots of kids in situations similar to your stepson’s. The college financial aid officers can help him sort anything out that he doesn’t understand. They have seen this before.</p>
<p>*He’s mainly applying to community colleges in Hawaii, also HPU a private and Manoa and FIU and USF.
*</p>
<p>For most/all of those schools, fed aid will not be enough money. Who will pay the rest? He’s OOS for the publics and HPU doesn’t meet need.</p>
<p>Does his high school send a lot of kids to study in the US? If not, he might benefit from a chat with the counselors at the closest advising center of EducationUSA. There are several in Japan: [EducationUSA</a> | Find an Advising Center](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/Japan]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/Japan) If his mom wasn’t educated here, she might like to chat with them as well. I used to volunteer that local office when I lived outside the US. If the staff in Japan is half as good as the people I worked with, your stepson and his mom will be in good hands.</p>
<p>Filling out the financial part for his mom and her wages in yen equal to about $25,000 and since she doesn’t file a tax return cos she’s in Japan and is Japanese the fafsa is coming up with an error because she earned money yet isn’t filing a return… So what should we do?</p>
<p>kelsmom answered that on another thread recently, but I can’t find it to link it here for you. As I recall, if she filed a Japanese return, the income would go on the income line, and her Japanese taxes would go on the taxes paid line. If she didn’t have to pay taxes, she should put her income on the untaxed income line.</p>
<p>Try that and see if it works.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>This may be irrelevant to the problem OP is facing, but I’ll add this. Majority of Japanese salaried employees don’t need to file tax returns. So his Japanese mom’s income may be her take home net income. She needs to look for her year-end detailed withholding document (gensen choshu hyo) for FAFSA purpose since it shows her gross income and taxes paid, just like W-2.</p>
<p>thank you, you are all so very helpful!</p>
<p>Update: Financial aid from HPU was rejected awaiting tax return transcript even after millions of messages back and forth to their financial aid office that she does not file a tax return in Japan. They even told me to change the FAFSA to will file (because it came back with an error that after converting yen to dollars it was over the USA threshold for filing taxes) so back at square one again. I am so frustrated with this whole process. Even leeward community college told us to change it to will file. I emailed them AGAIN so I have no clue at this point what’s going to happen. Now we have to send in another signature page because she can’t get a pin to sign the fafsa because she is Japanese no SSN. I am surprised this sounds like a unique situation and hasn’t happened before?</p>
<p>Have you used the net price calculators for his schools? </p>
<p>I may be wrong, but it sounds like you’re going thru a lot of effort when it’s very likely that even he wouldn’t get the needed aid anyway. </p>
<p>For instance, at HPU, if he has a 0 EFC and good stats, then after HPU grants and 5500 fed grant plus loans, he’ll have to pay about $12k per year plus int’l travel costs. </p>
<p>How much will his family contribute each year?</p>