<p>So i recently completed the fafsa registration for my daughter to receive financial aid.
In doing so there was needed info on my behalf for stating my last years income. As well as what and who I claim as dependants. My daughter lives on campus btw.</p>
<p>My question is this...Whether i chose to claim my daughter as my dependant or not on my tax return once filing the fafsa with my parent info, is it a (fafsa mandatory) to file my daughter as my dependant on my taxes? Opposed to her mother filing our daughter on her return even though her residence is with her.</p>
<p>Pacifico, are you and your daughters mother married? If so, the financial information for both you and your wife are REQUIRED for your daughter’s FAFSA application. Your tax filing status and that your daughter resides
at college have no bearing on this at all.</p>
<p>If you are divorced, the parent completing the FAFSA should be the parent with whom the child resides with most.</p>
<p>(1) It makes no difference to anyone which of you claims your daughter on his or her tax return. Do whatever you like.</p>
<p>(2) However, the parent whose information is used on FAFSA must be the parent with whom your daughter resides the majority of the time that she is not at school. If that’s her mother, than her information should have been used to complete the FAFSA, and not yours.</p>
<p>No, divorced for years now actually. We have been taking turns in claiming our daughter as a dependent. In this case, for this year, I made less than her mom last year due to being on disability from elbow surgery. Although she resides on campus her mailing address is with her mom and resides there most weekends.</p>
<p>In the OP to this thread, the poster states that the daughter resides with the mother. That being the case, the MOTHER should be completing the FAFSA as the custodial parent. The FAFSA requires that the parent with whom the child resides with MOST completed the FAFSA as the custodial parent. The non-custodial parent does NOT complete the FAFSA. It doesn’t matter who declares the student on their taxes. Many divorced parents alternate declaring the student as a dependent for one reason or another. But if the student resides more with the MOM, the MOM should be completing the FAFSA.</p>
<p>Well in all actuality, she resided with me for the first five months starting january 2012 thru may 2012 while commuting to shool in her first year (2nd semester) at college. She lived w her mother over last summer and decided to live on campus last fall semester til currently and commutes to moms house on weekends mostly throughout. </p>
<p>So…in computing the math…she resided with me more last year than her mom. Hence having me fill out the fafsa knowing the required info for fall semester this year is from last years info. Carry the 2…yeah sounds right lol</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad - FAFSA does not require a student to have lived with parent A “most of the time” - just to have spent more time with parent A than with parent B.</p>
<p>In this case, the student spent a good part of her year not living with either parent - because she was away at school. The OP did the math for the remaining part of the year and calculated that she spent more time with him than with her mom.</p>
<p>To be technical about this, it’s the parent who the student lived with most in the 12 months preceding the filing of the fafsa. It’s not who the student lived with most in the previous calendar year.</p>
<p>Right. So add up the days the kid spent in the bed or on the couch at Dad’s … in the last 12 months. Then do the same for the number of days spent in the bed or on the couch at Mom’s … in the last 12 months. The winner is the one with whom the kid spent more days … in the last 12 months. THAT is the “parent” for the FAFSA.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter who claimed the kid as a tax exemption.</p>