A friend of my daughter (18 y.o.) has basically been disowned by her parents. That may be a little strong but she receives no financial (and less emotional) support. She is the “sleeping on someone’s couch” kid. She currently qualifies for Free and Reduced lunch. We are helping her complete her apps and FAFSA and may provide a home at some point.
Her mother claimed her as a dependent on 2017 taxes. She had no income and did not file. She will be filing in 2018.
So questions about completing FAFSA
1- do we have to use mother’s 17 return to complete? If not, what do we do?
2- how do we distinguish between “i was supported then” and “I get no support now”?
3- what is the most strategic way to file 18 taxes? I.e. Head of household or something else
4- since she is essentially homeless, how do we strategically capitalize on that?
5- if we do provide a place for her to live, what impact will that have? I understand i could get another deduction for her but I would rather maximize benefits/opportunities to her.
There are no more individual tax personal exemptions, so it doesn’t help you if you could claim her as a dependent (you probably couldn’t unless she is totally dependent on you and makes less than $3500 per year). She is not HOH as she had no dependent. She can just file as an individual. No disadvantage to her parents for not taking her anymore except maybe a $500 credit for a full time student but even if parent take her, there is no difference to her filing her own tax return as she’ll still get the $1200 standard deduction.
For fafsa, she is still dependent unless she can get a homeless override. Ask the high school counselor to help.
yes, her mother would have to fill out the FAFSA
you don't. FAFSA doesn't ask about current support; you might be able to appeal to individual schools
3 for 2018 taxes, she files as an individual
talk to hs counselor
No impact to you. You are not her parent, she's not counted in your household. You get bonus points for getting into heaven for being a nice person
She'll still need her mother to help with FAFSA unless the hs counselor can get her an homeless override.
A dependency override is not required for a homeless student, but the student has to be prepared to provide documentation of homeless status (schools will ask for this). That is where the h.s. counselor can assist.
Definitions: “Unaccompanied” means you are not living in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. “Homeless” means lacking fixed, regular, and adequate housing, including living in shelters, motels, cars, and temporarily with other people because you have nowhere else to go.