<ol>
<li><p>Why does FAFSA ask you whether you filed , or could file, a 1040a vs a 1040?</p></li>
<li><p>why does FAFSA ask whether you took, or could take, the college tax credit called... I believe it is the American Opportunity credit (not sure)?</p></li>
<li><p>How can I see what our EFC see is (before submitting it to the college)? I saved the FAFSA but did not submit it so that I could review it. However, I did not see what our EFC is. Since there are different variables involved ,I wanted to see the effect on efc that 1040a vs 1040 , for example , might have.</p></li>
</ol>
Being eligible to file a 1040A 0r 1040ez rather than a 1040, along with meeting income limits, can help make you eligible for the simplified needs test (income <$50k) where assets are ignored, or the automatic 0 EFC (income <$30k). If your income is not below one of these cut offs then the tax return makes no difference.</p>
<p>
The purpose of the question to not penalize you for having taken the credit. The tax credits reduce your tax which would increase your EFC. So the tax credits in the FAFSA question are deducted from the AGI (just as the tax would have been) so that you are not penalized for having taken a credit. If you took the credit you should report it (the nonrefundable part, not the refundable part)</p>
<p>
Your EFC is not calculated until you submit the FAFSA.</p>
<p>There is a fafsa forecaster somewhere on the web–I think there’s a link on the FAFSA web site. It lets you enter your info and get a predicted EFC. It was pretty close in our case. Good luck.</p>
<p>Parent asset protection for a 2 parent family where the older parent is 50 at the end of this year is $52,900. If only one parent then the asset protection drops to 20,500.</p>
<p>The simplified needs test, where assets are ignored, requires an AGI below $50,000 as well as filing (or being eligible to file) a 1040a or ez (or meeting the income criteria and one of the other criteria such as dislocated worker). If your AGI is $50k or higher then you are not eligible for simplified needs whatever tax return you file.</p>
<p>thanks, swim. We are a 2 parent family. Another question on EFC: is EFC dependent on AGI or taxable income?</p>
<p>In doing my taxes, I discovered that I could get a lower taxable income by filing the long form 1040 and doing itemization of deductions. However, I discovered that my refund was exactly the same as when I filed a 1040A even though with the latter I had a higher taxable income. In both cases the tax due was 0.</p>
<p>So I was wondering what would be better for our EFC, filing a 1040 and getting a lower taxable income ($6.6k), or doing a 1040A with a higher taxable income ($11.4k)? In either case our AGI is the same ($41.1k)</p>
<p>It is Asset protection that is based on whether there are one or two parents. </p>
<p>The Automatic 0 EFC is based on parent AGI which must be less than $30k. Does not matter whether it is one parent or two. It is the AGI of the parent(s) that are required to be reported on FAFSA. If your AGI is $41k then it is too high for the auto 0 EFC.</p>
<p>With a AGI of $41k you may qualify for the simplified needs test where assets are ignored. As well as meeting the AGI criteria (<$50k) you would have to meet one of the additional criteria - such as be eligible to file a 1040a or ez (which would mean you cannot itemize - itemizing makes you ineligible to file either of these tax forms) or be a dislocated worker or qualify for certain means tested benefits (such as food stamps) etc.</p>
<p>thanks, swimcatmom, for the clarification. </p>
<p>…“such as be eligible to file a 1040a or ez (which would mean you cannot itemize”</p>
<p>Isn’t it possible to choose not to itemize even though you ‘could’ (my itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction) ? In our case this yr, my tax liability is the same regardless of itemizing or not itemizing.</p>
<p>Yes. It is always your choice whether to itemize or not. If you do choose to itemize then you are not eligible to file a 1040a or 1040ez. If you do not choose to itemize then you may be eligible to file a 1040a or ez depending on all factors (there are several things that can make you have to file a 1040 such as my favorite pet peeve that I am still whining about 3 years later - a taxable state tax refund).</p>
<p>you can calculate your EFC with the actual formula. You can also play with the numbers and see the affects. For instance the frequently asked “how can I hide assets” question is shown to be ineffective unless your assets exceed your protected amount AND your income is low enough to get you a low (sub $4k) EFC</p>
<p>Where is the question on the FAFSA (online) that asks for the amounts of money in siblings savings accounts? I recall this question last year and I notice that the college board EFC estimator has this question on its q and a.</p>
<p>also, what is the reason that FAFSA is asking whether either of the student’s parents is a ‘dislocated worker’? I have to re-read the efc estimating tools, but I do not recall that question on the efc estimating tools.</p>
<p>This is the definition on the online FAFSA site of dislocated worker…</p>
<p>" A person may be considered a dislocated worker if he or she: </p>
<p>■is receiving unemployment benefits due to being laid off or losing a job and is unlikely to return to a previous occupation;
■has been laid off or received a lay-off notice from a job;
■was self-employed but is now unemployed due to economic conditions or natural disaster; or
■is a displaced homemaker. "</p>
<p>Because if your AGI is under a certain thresholds then being a dislocated worker can make you eligible for either simplified needs where assets are ignored (also requires AGI under $50k) or automatic 0 EFC (also requires EFC <$30k).</p>