My oldest daughter graduated college in 2018 and has now officially moved out of my house. For 2019, she will no longer be a dependent. My son is currently at a meets-full-need school. I understand the affect of my daughter no longer being in college at the same time as my son. I have already seen the drop for his 2019/20 financial aid. I am now wondering how not having my oldest child as a dependent affects my son’s financial aid. Obviously, no one here can give me an actual value for how having one less dependent child in my house will affect financial aid at his school. However, I was hoping I can get a feel for how my son’s 2020/21 financial aid will be affected. Anyone have any experience with this situation?
The difference in federal and state funds based on FAFSA can be figured out simply by running the published FAFSA formula with different inputs. If you’re asking about institutional aid, you won’t get any meaningful anecdotal data here without disclosing the school’s name. Your best bet for solid information is to contact the financial aid office at your son’s school.
It won’t be perfect because your kid is not an incoming freshman…but run the net price calculator with the additional dependent, and run it without the additional dependent…see what the difference is.
This should give you a decent ballpark at a meets full need school.
Thanks for the responses. I did laugh at 57special’s response. Thumper1 - Good idea. I went to CollegeBoard’s calculator and they don’t really give you that option. I can specify if a sibling is 18 or older and whether they go to college or not. but not if they are considered a dependent or not. I did see a couple of other college calculators that I tried. In one of them, it made a $2,500 difference. In another, it made no difference. I guess it really doesn’t matter too much, as it is what it is. Was just curious. What made me think about it is my daughter moved out in November. I am currently working on the forms and put down that she is an independent. If I had submitted the financial aid forms in October, I would’ve put down that she was a dependent, as I was paying more than half living costs. Of course, if she moved out after I filled out the forms, then I probably would’ve been on the hook to update the university.
EDIT: I tried the collegeboard NPC removing my older daughter all together. That came up with a $1,700 difference.
As I said, this question is theoretical because my older daughter did move out and there’s no question she is not a dependent for the 2020/21 year. What I am curious about is what if I had filed my son’s return before she moved out. I assume I would be obligated to let the school know of the change. Do people agree with that?
privateID - I get what you are saying because I was thinking about some similar things: how there’s been changes already from what we put down on kid’s FAFSA and CSS form. (eg: he worked all holiday season and its in his savings account). We certainly won’t make any changes; didn’t know he was going to do take that job.
its confusing to me sometimes. Financial Aid wants to know income from 2 yrs ago; assets as of NOW . . . and number of dependents . . . as of now? or next year? What if you had a kid due to be born next year? would you put that down in the fall? (I’d say NO to that; which then makes me think it’d be OK to have included your daughter who was dependent at the time). these are just rambling thoughts . Our oldest moved out in July; and we were thinking about the timing on all of this as well.
just curious: will you declare your D as a dependent for tax purposes? (we are still trying to figure that out too).
This status is as if the date of filing, I believe. And it is asking about the 2020-2021 academic year.
@kelsmom can answer, but i believe you complete this as if the date of filing…just like your marital status. I don’t think you correct this.
It’s not like having another kid enrolled in college…where your aid would substantially decrease probably if a second kid wasn’t enrolled. No question…if a sibling isn’t enrolled in college, it’s wise to inform the school. Many ask for a sibling verification of enrollment once the fall term has begun anyway.
@bgbg4us The rules for being a dependent for tax purposes are different. I didn’t realize it till late in 2019, but she will be an independent for tax purposes for 2019. I think the reason is she is over 21 and did not attend school in 2019. That is true, even though she lived at home and I paid more than half her living expenses in 2019. (As an aside, it also meant that in 2019 I could not use my HSA for her even though she was on my insurance. But I was able to establish an HSA in her name and contribute the family max. Sounds crazy, but I am pretty sure that is the rule. I didn’t end up doing that, but I could’ve). However, for financial aid purposes, she clearly was a dependent in October 2019. I guess that may be a good reason to fill out financial aid forms earlier when a situation is uncertain. I had no idea when she would get a job and move out after living at home most of 2019. I usually wait till Jan to fill out the forms because I want to pay the Spring bill first. So, I may have saved a bit paying the Spring bill and lost a bit by losing a dependent. No complaints. Just like to know the rules as I always seem to field questions from co-workers.
I believe the rule is the “child must be under age 19 or, if a full-time student, under age 24.” At least, that is what Turbotax tells me. There are other rules as well, but that is the one that made my daughter an independent.
If you supported her and she didn’t earn over a certain amount during 2019, she might count as your qualifying relative for tax purposes. You can ask a tax professional or read the IRS Publication 501 that deals with dependents.
It’s my understanding that the fafsa wants household size for the academic year it represents. So the 2020-2021 fafsa wants to know your household size for that academic year.