So I was filling out my FAFSA and ran into a little bit of a problem. Here’s my situation:
Neither my father or my mother is working, and our main source of income is my dad’s retirement and disability. They were told they didn’t have to file taxes this year.
But when I put that we’re not filing this year on the FAFSA, it asked me about my parents’ income. My counselor told me just to put zero for both of their incomes since they don’t work, but then it doesn’t ask me about retirement or anything else. So am I just supposed to leave it as zero even though we still get money from retirement and disability? I’m so confused.
I’m sure you will get some better answer tomorrow from those who know more than I do, but just to put something tonight…I’m sorry you delayed so long to file fafsa with all your issues that need to be investigated.
First, I’m wondering if your parents can file their portion of the FAFSA and not you because they will be a bit more familiar with income, taxes and terms used.
Distributions from a retirement plan are counted as income on the Fafsa, either as part of adjusted gross income or as part of untaxed income (for example, a tax-free return of contributions from a Roth I.R.A.).
I cannot remember about the disability right now, I always see conflicting info. Wait for more answers as I don’t want to say the wrong thing and add confusion.
The thing is, if your income looks too low to support your family you will probably be flagged for Verification. They will want to know how you eat. So you will have to provide all the paperwork that shows all your sources of funds and your assets. Gather that now and wait for instructions. Also your parents may be required to fill out a form that declares they are eligible to be non-filers. They can always file the taxes and show 0 owed, so you have the form to fill the Fafsa out and supply to the college, too.