<p>Hi i have a question about taxes and filing. For the 2013/2014 school year i will be an independent student. I will not file for 2012 tax year since i did not work. My main question is for the line about fasfa and how much scholarships and grants got reported to irs, do i just put a 0 or leave blank since the amount after my expenses for the 2012 year was 5417 which is under the min. filing requirement for 2012?</p>
<p>Yes, you will leave it blank. You only put an amount on that line if you filed a tax return and reported an amount of taxable income from scholarships. I find that this is a question MANY students answer incorrectly - even students where I work, which is masters-degree only. If the amount of scholarship money you received in 2012 is more than the amount of tuition/eligible fees you paid in 2012, the amount in excess is taxable (see IRS website for a more detailed explanation - my explanation is not meant to be tax advice!!) - but only if the total of all income is at least the amount of the minimum filing requirement. The purpose of putting the amount of scholarship money reported on a 1040 on the FAFSA is to pull it back out of the AGI - so you don’t get penalized in the EFC formula for receiving financial aid the previous year.</p>
<p>Just a reminder: Check your state’s minimum filing requirement. My D had to file state taxes even though she didn’t have to file federal - the minimum filing requirement was lower than the federal requirement, and she had grant/scholarship money in excess of the state filing requirement.</p>