Filling out a fafsa for my kid for 2020.
My girlfriend is also a college student (went back to school) and we have a toddler.
I provide over 50% of my gf and our toddlers $ but I didnt claim them on my taxes.
Should I write down that our household will have 2 college students and 4 people total?
Not sure what kind of proof they will require for veridication.
Parents of any kind do not count as college students on their kid’s FAFSA forms.
Does the future college kid live with you?
Yes the future college student lives with me
I’m going to punt here…and hope @BelknapPoint and @mommdc will chime in.
You aren’t married. You filed taxes as single (right). Really what you have is a roommate and a child that is your child, plus your college bound child. Are you saying you didn’t declare your toddler as your dependent on your taxes?
I’m guessing you would be a family number of 3. Yourself and both of your kids. Your live in girlfriend is not a family member and is not the student’s bio mom…so I believe she would not count.
You have one person who will be in college next year…your college bound child. As I said above, adults going to college (parents) do not get counted on the student FAFSA.
Be prepared to be selected for verification. Your tax return information is not going to align with a family of 3. Someone might want an explanation of that, and documentation that this third person (the toddler) actually exists…since the toddler is not on your taxes.
That’s my best guess.
Lots of people don’t claim their children on taxes because the other parent claims them. That doesn’t mean the child (or the girl friend) are not dependents or members of the household for FAFSA. The FAFSA definition is not that the head of household has to be taking the household member as a tax dependent but that he provide 50+% of the support. It’s rather common for parents to alternate years for tax dependents, or to split them. My brother and his ex-wife each take one of their twins to make them each HOH (rather than alternating years) but the kids are always together and thus are members of a household. I guess when it comes time for FAFSA they’ll pick one of the parents as the custodial parent/household but each parent will still take one boy as a tax dependent.
OP said he does provide 50% of the support, and IMO they are all members of the FAFSA household. Agree that the student doesn’t get to include the girlfriend as another in college because the FAFSA definition doesn’t allow it.
All members of OP’s household; one in college. When GF does her FAFSA, she has one in household/one in college.
@kelsmom…so you would say a family of four (girlfriend, toddler, college bound kid, and dad)?
Does your GF work?
Who is claiming the toddler?
Can you actually show that you’re providing 51% of GF’s support? That could be hard to do if she’s earning money herself.
Anyway you don’t count your GF as a student on your child’s FAFSA.
And if your GF files FAFSA, she will not be claiming either child on her FAFSA since you are providing 51% of baby’s expense and you are supporting your child.
Yes…this is what Kelsmom wrote about the situation…and she was a financial aid officer.
For the college bound daughter…4 in household, 1 in college.
Girlfriend 1 in household and 1 in college.
BUT good question…who IS claiming the toddler??
this is odd. Can you clarify? In another thread you put that your GF doesn’t work or have an income…so why aren’t you claiming them?
You previously wrote this. If it’s true, what kind of need based aid are you anticipating your college bound student will get.
Oh. That changes things. Even with 4 in household & 1 in college, the D’s EFC will be quite high. The GF’s EFC will most likely be Pell-eligible … unless the BF pays bills in her name (these amounts would have to be reported on GF’s FAFSA).
In another thread you mention that gf has no income…yet you don’t claim her or your own baby on your taxes? Why is that?