<p>So for the passed two years i have been putting that my parents are married .and now after finding out that my parents have been filling their taxes our improperly, i have to put that my dad is single and my mom is head of household will that affect anything will they question me about it? i dont know what to do or what my parents should do. i just want to kill myself -__-</p>
<p>Just take a deep breath …</p>
<p>Your parents are filing their taxes incorrectly if they are living together. What happened in the past won’t affect your financial aid … but what they do for 2011 taxes WILL affect your aid in that if you are selected for verification & they filed incorrectly, they will have to amend their returns in order for you to receive aid. </p>
<p>You need to complete your FAFSA with your parents as “married” if they are married. Their tax filing status may be incorrect, but the FAFSA is asking about something other than tax filing status.</p>
<p>Why are your parents filing that way??</p>
<p>well they told me they get more money this way so i dont want them to get into trouble now but if i dont do something i cant go to college :[ they dont want to fix their taxes so i dont know if i should just continue what they are doing and out that information in my fafsa or just make them file their taxes as married and let them deal with the consequences :/</p>
<p>I am just a parent…but I believe that if your parents are NOT filing their taxes correctly (i.e. they are married but are saying they are not…), any federally funded need based aid could very well be in jeopardy should you be awarded it. If you are selected for verification OR if the school asks for tax returns, and unearths this error, they will be required to report it and it will need to be corrected (Kelsmom can clarify).</p>
<p>Filing income taxes using a status that is NOT the real status is considered fraud. Any “money” they save could well get eaten up by the penalties for needing to refile correctly and paying the correct amounts.</p>
<p>i completely understand this, which is why i am freaking out. if my parents amend their taxes the amount they will have to pay back is ridiculous. so as their child how do you think that makes me feel. its their fault i am in this situations, but i dont know what to do :[</p>
<p>If the school discovers that the parents are filing incorrectly, they are not allowed - by law - to give any financial aid. If the parents choose to amend their returns and provide proof that they have done so, the aid officer can complete the verification/file and award aid. If the parents choose not to amend, most aid offices will not report it to the IRS … but the student will not receive any aid. I dealt with this issue a lot, and I always told parents I was not making them amend their returns … but I couldn’t give their kid aid if they chose not to do so.</p>
<p>I don’t understand how your parents think it will net you more aid. Do they want you to pretend they are not married & just use the info from one parent? If so, this is fraud - don’t do it. If not, the fact that they are not filing correctly doesn’t give you a penny more than you would get if they filed correctly. You would still have to include the earnings from both parents, regardless of how they filed their returns. So in the end, you don’t get any more money … and you might not get any aid if you get caught during verification with incorrect filing status (aid officers hate being the IRS police, but the rules are the rules - if they see it, they can’t allow it).</p>
<p>I am not going to address the fact that your parents are filing incorrectly on purpose - they know it’s wrong, so they are taking the chance. But what I want to point out is that if you are filing FAFSA for 2012-13, 2011 is used … have them file taxes correctly for 2011 & no one is going to ask for the older returns.</p>
<p>so now that my parents have been filing incorrecly…for 2011 if they file their taxes as married what will happen?..</p>
<p>and i have explained to them that they have filed incorrectly and that it is fraud but they honestly done care…my parents suck.</p>
<p>I don’t know enough about that aspect of taxes to address what would happen. However, it is never too late to start doing the right thing.</p>
<p>And please … make sure your parents understand that filing incorrectly does NOT help your aid in any way, shape, or form.</p>
<p>im just confused on what i should do on my fafsa this year and what my parents need to do</p>
<p>I think Kelsmom was very clear. Your parents need to file the 2011 tax returns accurately and honestly. If they are married, they need to file in a manner that is allowed for married couples. Then you use the info from that accurate and honest return on you FAFSA this year.</p>
<p>thats what i told them and they have been telling me they dont want to. do i force them? do i move out?</p>
<p>Show them this:</p>
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<p>Far, far more FAFSA’s are verified each year than tax returns. FA officers are required to report fraud to the Dept of Education. IMO, they are very foolish if they still take this risk.</p>
<p>i understand….they are just scared because they know the IRS will come and contact them once they change their taxes to different information.</p>
<p>the thing is i have been putting correct information on my fafsa…because my parents are married they have just been doing their taxes improperly…and i didn’t find out until this year and have been forced to deal with all by myself. i’m only a sophomore in college.</p>
<p>Why would they assume that the IRS will contact them? People separate and reconcile all the time…my ex and I filed in the way you described several times when we were legally separated, switched back to joint filing for a few years, and now file as your parents do since we’re divorced. This was never questioned by the IRS or state tax authorities. Meanwhile, they’re compounding their risk by continuing to file incorrectly.</p>
<p>How can you put the correct info on FAFSA if they have separate returns and one is HoH? I would think that would raise a flag since both parents’ info would not be required in a legitimate HoH situation.</p>
<p>because as a freshman i would ask my mom what they were married seperated….and she said married so for the passed two years on fafsa i have put that they are married instead of putting what they filed… i put that they were married bc they are so i assumed it would be no problem…</p>
<p>But how did you enter their income information…only from your Mom’s return? Or did you add them together?</p>
<p>i put that they were married but separated tax forms so i input separate information.</p>
<p>Oh, duh…I forgot that was an option! Well, at least you’ve had the correct income/asset info on your FAFSA. Still, it’s worrisome that you could lose your aid.</p>