<p>Divorce settlements can be all over the map. Sometimes a lump sum settlement is given and one of the terms might be that the non custodial parent be allowed to claim a kid as a dependent as long as one is so eligible. My friend’s settlement was so worded. There were two kids and each got one as dependent. This was a while ago and she then got them both since his income exceeded the amount where it made any difference. But it had to be renegoitated. The divorce decree can so stipulate and the IRS lets that go.</p>
<p>FAFSA isn’t going to care. They see this all of the time. But a school being asked to give a NCP waiver might address this issue. Kid is still being named and taken as an dependent on tax returns? Not a good thing. But then they may not ask. I do know that the custodial parent does at times have to answer a whole slew of questions when a NCP override for PROFILE is requested. But the specific procedure varies from school to school. </p>
<p>Mom might still be a head of household with kid as qualifying person even if not a dependant for tax purposes. </p>
<p>@rgosula How is that not right? I JUST did the calculator? Are you saying the CollegeBoard calculator estimate is wrong? </p>
<p>Do it yourself: <a href=“Expected Family Contribution (EFC) – BigFuture”>Expected Family Contribution (EFC) – BigFuture;
<p>4 dependents, one in college</p>
<p>120,000 income
30,000 taxes
24,000 child support
~2,000 in savings</p>
<p>Calculator for each individual college.</p>
<p>And didn’t you say your dad does not pay child support?</p>
<p>That tax amount seems high. Only Federal Taxes count. (not what is withheld, what is actually paid).</p>
<p>And you cannot put the dependents for your father, since you said your mother is custodial parent. On FAFSA you are saying you are your mom’s dependent, you cant turn around and then say you are your dad’s dependent. AS far as I know, you are probably double counting.</p>
<p>You can put in all these optimistic assumptions, but I assure you the college will not.</p>
<p>@rgosula </p>
<p>My mother is MY custodial parent and I already said I was basing this on the assumption my dad paid child support from now on.</p>
<p>What is the tax rate, then?</p>
<p>Okay, so I have been informed my mother has FULL PHYSICAL custody but it is JOINT LEGAL custody.
Anybody have an idea if this makes any difference?</p>
<p>Your story is too disconnected to give you advice. One day you say your dad does not pay child support. And all of a sudden he now just paid 24000! </p>
<p>@rgosula Again, I said THIS IS ASSUMING HE HAD PAID THE CHILD SUPPORT</p>
<p>My parents are currently in a legal battle so he will likely have his wages garnished, I am not sure if that will go through by then, though; so I am trying to get an idea WITH BOTH POSSIBILITIES IN MIND</p>
<p>Legal vs physical custody doesn’t matter, especially if the tax dependent exemption is already split by the divorce court. </p>
<p>I’m confused on whether you are trying to fill out the NPC for the mother, father, or both. Also, there is no way a single parent makes $120k, takes 4 dependents, and pays $30k in taxes. You can’t just guess at these things, you have to know. $120,000 minus $19500 (self and 4 dependent exemptions of $3900/each) minus $8900 as the Head of household standard deduction (no house, not enough other deduction to itemize) is $91,000. Federal taxes would be about $18000, and if there are state taxes, wouldn’t the father itemize? Child support doesn’t change taxes, but if they are paid to your mother, she MIGHT need to claim them on FAFSA if she needs to claim assets; it sounds like you might qualify for an automatic 0 EFC.</p>
<p>You are not going to get all the answers today because you don’t know the financial situation. Try to figure it out the best you can. Stick with the FAFSA schools if you don’t have the info for the others. Ask your mother for a copy of her tax form, because I bet she did file something. If not, then you can go with zero. Be prepared to answer that she lives in a paid-for house, or that her parents pay for it. If you get aid for expenses or food stamps, that actually helps because you can skip a lot of the FAFSA questions. Even free lunch gets you that, so if you qualify, apply (you don’t have to eat it).</p>
<p>Don’t be so angry. My kids also worked hard in high school and do not get a free education and I can’t afford most colleges. No one is guaranteed a particular college except those who can pay full price. You’ve gotten good advice, based on experience of those who have gone before you, that most schools don’t dismiss the father’s income just because he hasn’t paid child support and you don’t live with him. You might get over this hurdle, but most don’t. Have a back up plan.</p>
<p>There aren’t big pots of money at the schools you’ve named, but there are lots of schools who will give you money. You many need to compromise.</p>
<p>@twoinanddone</p>
<p>I was trying to get a decent estimate, I obviously won’t be using eyeball numbers for the actual forms.
And I was trying to get a CSS EFC estimate for both my parents.</p>
<p>For FAFSA purposes ALL that matters is who you reside with most during the year. If it is your mom, then she is your custodial parent.</p>
<p>Something isn’t right with your family contribution calculation. A $120,000 income on the FAFSA would yield about a $30,000 a year EFC. I can’t imagine that it would be less with a Profile calculation.</p>
<p>Give it a go. I agree that your estimates are off from the results, something is. But try all of the options as suggested, and see what pans out. Be aware that your father might refuse to even fill out a NCP PROFILE form. He does not have to do so, and many divorced parents refuse to fill out anything of that sort because they do NOT want to release their financial info. My friend’s ex postively refused to do so. You can, of course try. Youc can try a bunch of things and see how it turns out. Good luck.</p>
<p>@cptofthehouse</p>
<p>I was actually wondering how I could get my father’s information.
(that is why I was estimating pretty much everything for my father’s info; all I TRULY know is what he is SUPPOSED to pay in child support and ~his income)</p>
<p>What can I do if he refuses to fill out the NCP?</p>
<p>Nothing. It’s his right to to refuse. </p>
<p>Some kids can’t get their parents to fill out FAFSA and these are intact famiilies. They just refuse to do it and they do not have to do so. It is very invasive. You basically are giving them your tax return and if you get selected for verification, they want all of your financial info to check it out. So some parents simply refuse. Your mother could refuse to fill out the FAFSA too. It’s a federal form, has to link to her tax returns. If she never filed, a non filer form has to be filled out and she has to explain how she is living on air. There are kids whose parents feel they absolutely cannot give this info. If there are some illegal things in the picture, that becomes a big problem. Also, you get access to that FAFSA info, and there may be things they don’t want you to see. They can’t prevent you from seeing it if you choose to look, as it’s considered YOUR document including their data. </p>
<p>It is possible that NCP PROFILE supplements are confidential. You can ask about that, and if so, you can use that info to try to convince him to fill it out, and what is at stake for you at the PROFILE schools. Maybe when you are in the app process, you can talk him into it.</p>
<p>These things I’ve mentioned and others here have brought up are just some examples of things that can pop up. It’s going to be a true gauntlet of sorts, so you had better have a lot of alternative plans.</p>
<p>@cptofthehouse</p>
<p>So, if my dad refuses am I just completely out of luck for any need-based aid based off the CSS profile, or do colleges make some kind of alternative calculation that would be less favorable?</p>
<p>If the college requires your dad’s information, and he does NOT provide it, you will have an incomplete financial aid application for institutional aid purposes. It will not be processed.</p>
<p>If your mom completes the FAFSA as the custodial parent, you WILL get any federally funded aid for which you are eligible. But that will NOT fund your education at expensive private universities. </p>
<p>You are asking these private universities to give you a LOT of THEIR money. It is well within their rights to require information that shows what your family can afford. </p>
<p>You can try to get a NCP waiver. Each school has their own criteria about getting that. But there are literally thousands of kids like you who cannot get aid because a parent or parents won’t fill out the form, won’t pay what the school thinks they should or have financial issues unresolved which blocks their kids from aid. So, yes, the answer is that you could be out of luck for that alternative. So be prepared and don’t pick all that kind of school on your list You should have some sure things that you know you will be able to afford. Local state schools to which you can commute.</p>
<p>There is NO requirement that a NCP provide any support for them to claim a child on their taxes. In this case, I would question whether he should, not based on the fact that he doesn’t provide support, but that it sounds like someone other than the mother is providing his support. If that is the case, the father is NOT in fact entitled to claim him. But that is not an issue for the financial aid office - that is an issue for the IRS which is likely to be taken up only if someone who IS supporting him chooses to claim him on their taxes. </p>
<p>As for what the father is paying in taxes, the OP knows his father’s salary, but there may be income from other sources, as well as state taxes being paid. Also, just because he is claiming exemptions for his 4 kids does not mean he is filing as head of household - in fact if he does not have physical custody, he cannot claim head of household - that goes to the custodial parent.</p>
<p>Just for clarity, the NPC is entitled to claim him if he lived with at least one parent more than half of the year, and between them they provided more than half his support, so long as either she agrees or a divorce decree states he gets the exemption.</p>
<p>As for financial aid, if the mother has no income, it will raise a red flag. I doubt he will get a waiver, because there is contact with the father - support or otherwise. I may seem unfair, but it is no different than a hard-working student from an affluent family who refuses to support him once he turns 18. He’s out of luck until he’s old enough to be considered independent for financial aid purposes.</p>
<p>And here’s a shocker - under the divorce degree, if this student doesn’t support himself next year, the father may not only be able claim him on his taxes, but would also benefit from any education credit, not the student! Hint… the student needs to support himself and claim himself next year, if possible.</p>
<p>I’ve seen NCPs get to claim a kid without any support, nothing but because it’s agreed upon in the divorce decree as part of the settlement and perfectly legitimate. As I said earlier, there could be a one time settlement in such cases. </p>