Foreign tax returns on FAFSA, CSS profile and IDOC

Paying for College
1

Hi guys.
So many of the colleges I’m applying to need fafsa, css profile and idoc. My dad lives in the USA so things should be smooth from his side.
Now, my mom lives with me in Bangladesh. There’s a few probs with her tax returns.

  1. Here, taxes are filed June-June from one year to the next, not Jan to December. The values given are for the whole tax year with no month by month breakdown or something. So should I make an estimate for the 2019 total income and tax.
  2. The documents are not in English so I’ll have to translate them, Is it okay if I translate myself, giving certifications?
  3. Lastly, and this is one I’m genuinely worried about, the documents list my father as my mother’s spouse, even though they are divorced and dad remarried. I don’t know if it’s due to a fault in the system or my mother’s ignorance, but anyway. So what do you suggest I do abt this?
    Please help.
2

Start with #3. Find out why your dad is listed as her spouse on the tax forms. You need to know what that’s about. Could it be that she’s still considered married to him in Bangladesh even though they got divorced in the US?

2 You need to ask each of the places you are applying to what they want you to do about translating documents. Do not be surprised if each of them asks for something different.

3

@happymomof1 Thank you! And what do you suggest about 1? Should I make rough estimates for total income and tax paid in 2019?
As for the translation, both idoc and college websites say they ‘must be translated’. Doesn’t say officially or anything, altho I will give a certification regardless.
And for 3, it’s basically a system error. It’s corrected in other documents like her passport.

4

You, as the student, should not be translating your own documents.
There are translation services and some of the schools may require certain translation services, so you have to check with the individual schools what they are requiring.

Also, my US and state taxes are not listed month by month.
I don’t know of anyone else who files taxes month by month, unless there is a business or a self-employed contractor who needs to file month by month… This is why you need someone that is in the business of translating and reviewing documents.

5

Your situation is worth running by a counselor at the closest EducationUSA advising center. There are several in Bangladesh. If no one at that office has worked with a US citizen recently, they surely have a colleague in one of the other offices who has. https://educationusa.state.gov/find-advising-center?field_region_target_id=&field_country_target_id=313&field_center_level_value=All

It also is perfectly OK for you to contact the financial aid and admissions offices at the places you are applying to, and ask them how they want you to handle everything. Make it very clear in your communications that you are a US citizen currently living abroad so that you get the advice pertinent to your specific situation.