If parents (one self employed consultant, not classified as a business owner) ) have assets (savings) in a family LLC that they don’t have to report on FAFSA but do report on CSS and a school requires both, how does the school reconcile and react to the different amounts reported on FAFSA vs CSS under cash/savings/checking? Is there a way to identify the incremental difference as “other” or something? Would clicking on Business Owner rather than Self Employed bring up other questions that allow another type of entry that would clarify?
You can always use CSS Profile section ES (Explanations/Special circumstances) to preemptively answer any questions that you think might come up.
If a school requires the Profile, that is the form the school will use to determine eligibility for institutional aid (money from the school). The FAFSA efc would only be used to determine eligibility for something like a Pell Grant, but that is for very low income families.
So…if you are a business owner completing the Profile, what can you expect? That varies from college to college. Some schools will add back in business deductions allowed by the IRS into your income. They do not allow these for financial aid calculation purposes. If your gross income is significantly more than your AGI, this could also raise a red flag.
You know…it is what it is. You just have to accurately and honestly report this on your forms.
Re: reconciling the difference between the Profile and FAFSA…well…schools that use the Profile really don’t use that FAFSA efc at all for their own funding purposes…so there is no need to reconcile it…at all.
Different schools have different calculation formulas. Just like families, each school has a different financial situation. One family may have lots of extra money, another family doesn’t. Same with schools…so each school will view things differently.
Having a business or taking business deductions and filling out CSS Profile can result in less than favorable aid…many deductions, depreciation, etc, will be “added back in” as income. Someone even reported that their child’s school added in the “employer” portion of FICA as income (her H was self-employed…so he pays both sides. )…
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reconciling the difference between the Profile and FAFSA...well...schools that use the Profile really don't use that FAFSA efc at all for their own funding purposes...so there is no need to reconcile it...at all.
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Exactly…CSS schools ONLY use FAFSA to see if you qualify for any fed aid. CSS schools use CSS Profile to see if there are ANY sources of money that should be used towards college…before that school is going to give you any of THEIR money.
FAFSA only schools typically don’t have much money to give.