<p>A good friend of my D's works 20 hours a week at a job, has very high GPA at an all honors HS, is Hispanic (well 1/2, but good enough...) and has very good SAT's - I was told 700's, and is looking at Amherst College and similar schools. Her parents have no - as in ZERO assets. </p>
<p>She needs everything paid for - tuition, room and board, etc, but is unable to complete the FAFSA since she just discovered that her parents have not filed tax returns in years!</p>
<p>My sister and I have been in this position many times over. Our parents did document everything, though never in a timely fashion.</p>
<p>College financial aid offices may be willing to work something out with her on an individual basis. They may have an alternative form she can fill out, they may ask her to provide other forms of documentations -- pay stubs, lease agreements, etc. </p>
<p>It's possible to file the FAFSA and CSS/Profile (since she's looking at private LACs) without having tax returns ready; this happens often. She should fill out the FAFSA and CSS Profile as early as possible (there will be a lot of questions) and to the best of her abilities. She will probably be "randomly" audited, and should be prepared for this.</p>
<p>This is tricky. It probably should include a discussion with the financial aid office, but I think she should speak with her parents first before doing even that. If they have not been filing tax returns and are required to do so - that is illegal and they could end up in some serious legal trouble (which might include jail time) : all because she wanted to file for financial aid.</p>
<p>You cannot file the FAFSA for the 2007-2008 school year until January 1 she would file it then. If she is applying RD, this should present no problem. However she has to make sure that her parents file early for tax year 2006 because the financial aid forms are due sometime between february and march (check the schools site for the date).</p>
<p>However if she is applying ED, she will need to file the CSS profile by the date required by the college (sometime this month). </p>
<p>In addition they probably will ask her to submit a signed copy of her parents' tax statements along with the W-2s for 2005. She will have to have this done and there really is no getting around it if she is looking to get aid from amherst as they will consider her FA application incomplete until it is done.</p>
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<p>her parents have not filed tax returns in years!>></p>
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<p>The question is WHY? If it is because they have had no income and therefore no reason to file that is a very different story than if they HAD income and didn't file. I guess what I'm saying is that if this person's parents DO file 2006 taxes so that their child can complete the FAFSA for the 2007 college year, it would likely trigger a tax audit situation over previous years IF they should have been filing and haven't. I think this situation could likely need the assistance of someone more knowledgable than many of us on this board. NOW...if the parents have no income and do not need to file taxes, the big question would be...how in the world are they paying their bills??</p>
<p>Hey, superfuzzy, are your pal's parents on welfare? Or maybe they get paid under the table? Or maybe one of them gets SSI? I do not know, do you know any details for this not filing income tax thing?</p>
<p>thumper1, college financial aid offices do ask how they are paying bills. (FAFSA audits, and the offices will ask parents for lists of their monthly living expenses.) Often, families are not paying bills; they are juggling them and falling further behind. It is possible to live like this for years.</p>
<p>merlinjones and thumper1, from what I can tell the parents are not earning significant income, and are certainly not living the high life to defraud the IRS. One of the parents had a good job a several years ago. They do receive assistance for housing, and receive food vouchers. I wouldnt be surprised if one of the parents is on disablilty. They are not drugs addicts, but obviously have emotional or mental problems, and as far as I know have never had run ins with the law. So it is entirely possible that they did not file returns since they made less than the threshold</p>
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So it is entirely possible that they did not file returns since they made less than the threshold
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<p>They should still file their taxes as while they may not owe the IRS, they could still be eligible for credits (refunds) that they are not receiving either. They should atleast file for 2005 and if they owe nothing, it's no harm/ no file. </p>
<p>They definitely will need to file for the 2006 tax year going forward if they want their child to have any chance of receiving financial aid, even basic federal aid (pell grants, stafford loans ) or state aid because the school will have to verify the income.</p>
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<p>the parents are not earning significant income, and are certainly not living the high life to defraud the IRS.>></p>
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<p>OH...I hope I didn't give the impression that this is the case!! It sounds like their threshold of earning was low enough that they didn't have to file. BUT as Sybbie pointed out, they will still need to do so for 2006 the finaid awards at colleges to be finalized.</p>
<p>Pip-pip...I know that the colleges do NOT ask how bills are being paid. My point is that if they do not receive any public assistance, and have NOT filed their tax returns...and then they DO file returns for 2005 and 2006 that indicated no income...the question could be posed perhaps by the IRS. I think this family needs some serious advice on how to proceed with these financial records. That was my point.</p>
<p>thumper -- actually, some college do ask how bills are being paid. As a returning adult student with a husband and two kids, my EFC has been zero for the past 2 years. I have been audited both times and since our income is so low, each time I have had to answer paperwork regarding how we pay our bills -- along with proof (lease agreements with amount and cancelled checks, utility bills, etc). We barely make it, but I had to prove that we could make it and that I wasn't hiding support or other income. Just any FYI (and this has been at 2 schools, community college and state college)</p>
<p>I have never heard of that and I ain't exactly a Rockerfeller myself:)</p>
<p>But every place is different, where I live no one in their right mind would go soo overboard with all of that. My efc (sadly) is always low and I have had the income verification thingy for the past two yeras in a row. Next year: I might just do my taxes, fill out the FAFSA, and fill out the income verification forms for independent students at the same time. </p>
<p>What I wonder, being of humble income myself, is that maybe the parents could just go to the IRS? Would that be wrong to do or something? Like, maybe they oculd go to the IRS and speak with them about how they are super low income but have a youngster about to head off to school? Or, would it be better if they spoke with the head of the fin aid department of the school the child is going to go to?</p>