my parents earn less than 50,000 a year, with $1000 in savings.I have no income or saving accounts. I am on reduced lunch. They filled out form 1040, not 1040a even though they could have (no itemized deductions, businesses, etc.) For some reason fafsa skipped questions about receiving reduced lunch, or if parents are eligible to file 1040A. I printed the summary of what i had filled out so far and noticed that those questions were automatically filled out with “no”. There is no way I can change them since they do not appear on screen. When I called and asked FAFSA why that is, they said the sustem uses skip logic, meaning that it does not make a difference, thats why those questions were skipped automatically. But the prefilled answers are wrong, they should be yesses instead of no’s. Please help!!!
It won’t make a difference. Your parents’ assets of $1,000 are lower than their asset protection allowance. You have no income or assets, so the FAFSA EFC will just be based on parent income.
The only benefit you would get for an income just below $50,000 would be the simplified needs test…whereby your assets would not count. You don’t have any assets that WOULD count at only $1000 in assets.
Guessing that’s why this just skipped over.
Your income would need to be below $28,000 a year to qualify for an auto $0 EFC. Guessing income is not that low.
So it skipped over because I do qualify for the simplified needs test and the free/reduced lunch answer would not make a difference in this case?
Hmmm, it actually skipped over all of those questions BEFORE I put down my parents assets. I used IRS DRT,starting with question 81, so the simplified needs test is based only on AGI? I thought you need to meet 3 conditions, income below $50k, if you’re on any state program, and last one if you’re eligible to file 1040A, even if you filled out 1040.
It never asked me the last 2 conditions and the automatic fill shows up as a “NO” on a printout…Very confused, this is inaccurate information on FAFSA then… its a “NO” instead of a “YES”. But it didn’t ask and skipped over!!! Isnt that fraud? VERY CONFUSED. I think I will erase and start over and not use IRS DRT and copy information from parent’s income tax return instead?
Simplified needs is based on AGI AND one of the other qualifiers.
Call the FAFSA hotline.
Thank you… they told me it uses “skip logic”. “This is the way the system works”, I was told. So basically it skipped the “qualifier” questions and based the simplified needs on AGI only? Something doesn’t sound right.
When did you go back and check those fields? Was it at the end of filling out your FAFSA? If so, by that time, you already did fill in the asset amount.
You know…in your case, does it make a difference in the federally funded aid you would receive? If yes…call the FAFSA hotline and tell them so…and find out how to get it changed.
If not…just let it go.
Appreciate your reply. It seems I am getting a different answer every time I call the helpline. I will just start over and fill everything in using the 2017 incomer tax as opposed to IRS DRT. If I am called for verification I will just provide all of the required documentation, not an issue. Is there really a good chance I will get called for verification if I dont use the Data Retrieval Tool? It just seems to be more of a hassle. Again, thanks for the help. Rob
Order a tax transcript from 2017. If you don’t use the DRT, you will need one.
How do you plan to start over?
I completed it , but did not submit, because when I printed it to review before signing and submitting I noticed the questions which were " skipped logic" auto filled with " no’s". Thats when the confusion began. There is the option of starting over on the home page, and thats what I was planning to do using the 1040 for 2017 instead of the IRS DRT…
what do you mean by a tax transcript.
If you don’t use the DRT, your school will likely want a tax transcript. This is n official IRS record of your 2017 tax return. You need to request this…so you have it when requested.
Another option would be to do the FAFSA entering the numbers and data yourself, then wait until it processes. Then go back in and link to the IRS DRT.
The college will want either the DRT or a tax transcript so they can verify that what is in the FAFSA is accurate.
They filled out form 1040, not 1040a even though they could have (no itemized deductions, businesses, etc.)
I assume that the logic associated with the IRS DRT process now checks to see if they could have filed a 1040A/EZ, based on a couple comments on the finaid forum. That makes sense, since the question of which form they filed is now answered within the IRS DRT process. That must be why the questions are no longer asked.
And before someone asks why THEY were asked, it could have to do with your state having a grant that takes assets into consideration … in that case, the state of residence may have requested asset info, and FSA wrote that into the process.
These folks are saying that the questions related to dislocated worker…and means tested benefit are also answered…NO…but that they didn’t answer them. This was automatically filled in.
It’s not JUST the 1040A/EZ question that isn’t there.
If the income is low enough & the DRT logic shows that the 1040 was either filed or could have been filed, the criteria for SNT is met & no further responses related to eligibility for SNT are required. That would render questions about federal means tested benefits & dislocated worker status unnecessary.
must I check off " register for selective service" - over 18 years of age? If I check NO I am not elegible for Federal Financial Aid???
Are you female or male?
Are you a male 18 or older?
Basically yes, if you are male you must not only check Yes, you must have actually registered to get federal financial aid.
I am male over 18