Filling Out CSS Profile When Parents are recently divorced

Paying for College
1

My ex-husband and I filed our taxes jointly last year, 2017. We were divorced in March 2018, but filed jointly because we had still been married during that year. I had help filling out the FAFSA with a super helpful representative over the phone. But now that I’m dealing with the CSS Profile and the individual schools’ Financial Aid forms, I don’t know how to fill in the taxes from 2017 which is a completely different picture than my financial picture now and going forward.

For the FAFSA, the woman had me figure out my portion of the taxes and list 2017 taxes as filing separately. (It seemed weird, but that’s what she said to do) The CSS and other forms go so much more into detail as far as what information they want, but offer nowhere to be specific about the details of certain situations. There is no FAQ

2

…(cont’d…keyboard slip) Anyone know anything about how to accurately represent the financial situation when parents are divorced in between filing taxes fro the prior year and applying for college and financial aid?

Thanks,
Maria

3

You do it the same way, except that the father’s income will appear on the CSS under the non-custodial parent’s section.

4

If you are a student who is no longer married when you submit the Profile, you don’t include your former husband’s income.

BUT if you are under 24, you might now be a dependent for financial aid purposes…and would need your parent incomes. But that would be true on the FAFSA as well.