<p>I know I need to ask a financial professional, but I thought maybe someone here can shed light on this subject. My son is a 3rd year and due to changed circumstances, he has the option when he files his taxes to declare himself as a dependent... If he does that and he's no longer part of my tax return, does he only report his assets and everything on FAFSA and CSS Profile? I'm assuming that would help him on the financial aid end. Has anyone had experience with this at UChicago and how it affects their financial aid?</p>
<p>Those things ask for the income and assets of both students and parents. Filing his own tax return, and ceasing to be your dependent for tax purposes, won’t change his financial aid status (except of course that it indicates he is making some real income himself, which will definitely affect the amount of aid he gets, but not in a good way).</p>