<p>If I mowed lawns in 2008 and got income, but was never employed, do I HAVE to put down my income or can I just put down 0.</p>
<p>I put 'mowing lawns' on my college application as a work experience so I'm scared that I'll be caught lying on FAFSA because I put 0 down. I doubt that the same people who look at my college app will also be handling financial aid. So the fin aid people might not even see the 'mowing lawns' part on my app so I'll be good. right?</p>
<p>Does the financial aid people look at my college app/resume while doing my fafsa form to check for inconsistencies and stuff like that?</p>
<p>No I didn’t do any of that I just got paid, lol. </p>
<p>The financial aid people looking only on FAFSA won’t know I earned any income, but the thing I am scared about is that they might think I’m cheating if they also look at my college resume, and see that I have had work experience. </p>
<p>I hope they don’t do that because that would suck.</p>
<p>All I am saying is that if I put 0 down for my income, there is NO WAY that they would catch me if they looked just at my FAFSA app. If they asked me to verify using tax forms, I could do that since I worked independently and was not an employee and was not subject to any taxes.</p>
<p>The only way they could even question my FAFSA is by looking at my college app, in which I put down work experience.</p>
<p>Getting paid under the table does not equal income, in my book. I didn’t put down that I got $200 for my birthday last year, and I think that’s pretty fair.</p>
<p>My question has always been this. I don’t file a tax return, so do I have to record my income? My sister always put down 0… I probably will just because I’d rather it bump up my EFC $1000 than get caught for lying and get no financial aid.</p>
<p>That’s a gift, it is not a wage in exchange for work (as in lawn mowing). Big difference. You know the difference, you just don’t want to declare it because it might cost you money.</p>
<p>That’s called cheating. Tax cheating. Do it enough, and do it big enough, and college financial aid will be small potatoes compared to the problems you’ll be facing.</p>
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<p>You’ve got it backwards. Sure, if you don’t file a tax return, you don’t declare income (or deductions, for that matter). The question you should be asking yourself is “does my income require me to file a tax return?”</p>
<p>If you receive a wage “under the table”, more power to ya. But you can’t count this as “work” on one document (your college app), unless you’re declaring it as “work income” on another document (FAFSA). To do otherwise is cheating, and illegal.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that many colleges have the *same person *as Director of Admissions and Director of Financial Aid.</p>
<p>This is great. A whole new generation of tax cheaters, and they think it’s okay. Knock yourselves out, just don’t expect people to applaud your duplicity.</p>
<p>And please don’t come on the board looking for approval for your cheating. If you’re going to cheat, go ahead. But beg for your approvals elsewhere.</p>
<p>Oh, don’t be that harsh. It’s a fair question. I worked this summer and received pay off the checkbooks per my request. There’s a section on the FAFSA that asks for “any untaxed income earned in 2008”. That is where you would put your payments for mowing people’s lawns. To make this clear
Volunteer = Work for 0 pay, regarded as “service work” or “volunteer hours” on college resumes.
Taxable income = Work in which you receive a W2 -OR- any of the other specifications (look it up if you’re curious)
Untaxed income = Stuff like Social Security, or the other stuff on the worksheet. This is where an honest person would put “under the table” income. </p>
<p>Now, I’m sure that the college won’t take the time to compare your application to the exact things on your FAFSA. However, if you feel guilty about it/questioning whether it’s right or wrong, then I think you already know.
You’re hiding money that you earned from work. The other example, a $200 birthday gift, does not go on the FAFSA. My work earnings were in the form of gift cards and I received them in a one-time payment, so technically, it was a “gift”, but since I earned it by working, I claimed it as untaxed income. A birthday gift… unless it’s specifically designated for college purposes (I doubt it) would not be claimed, except for a case where you deposited it into your bank account.</p>
<p>To me, mowing lawns is similar in nature to babysitting income. I never reported babysitting cash when I was in high school. </p>
<p>And to those raving about tax cheating - do you pay sales tax to your state on tax-free purchases made online? You’re supposed to. You may be a tax cheat too.</p>
<p>The question is a really good one. What about baby sitting money? What about a few bucks the neighbor slipped you for helping him carry in that big ol’ sofa? At what point is one required to report income if a student?</p>
<p>If someone has a lawn mowing business where he is getting regular income from doing this, there is definitely an obligation to report it to the IRS, FAFSA and whereever else. If he sporadically mows a few lawns now and then…I don’t think so. It used to be that once you earned enough to have to report and pay social security on it, that was when it became official income. Since those numbers have not been indexed, that means most baby sitters, lawn rakers, etc can easily be over that amount. </p>
<p>Use your judgement in these situations. There is no line that I know where reporting becomes important.</p>
<p>You might also think about how much you earned moving. Did you earn $300 or $3000? My point being if the amount isn’t that much - say $1000 or under, it’s not going to affect your EFC by all that much - maybe a couple of hundred dollars. So, either way, reported or not (your call) just saying reporting isn’t going to cost you a fortune.</p>
<p>Very true. I don’t really see the point in -not- reporting it, unless it was a one-time thing. I mean, helping your neighbors move and receiving $100 for it (out of the blue, whatever, who knows) is obviously not regular income. On the other hand, say that you mowed lawns twice a week and earned… $60 for doing so. Over 12 weeks, that’s $720. It’s not going to affect your EFC enough to matter, so just report it. </p>
<p>If you were a hardcore lawn guy and made thousands of dollars, then it’s a different story :)</p>
<p>'To me, mowing lawns is similar in nature to babysitting income. I never reported babysitting cash when I was in high school.</p>
<p>And to those raving about tax cheating - do you pay sales tax to your state on tax-free purchases made online? You’re supposed to. You may be a tax cheat too.'</p>
<p>But did you put “Babysitting” on your college application as a work experience? Because I could easily imagine in instance in which the person sees that you had a job on your college app and then looks at your fafsa and wonders why this student didn’t earn any income, and raise questions.</p>
<p>Yes, my state does have a line for untaxed purchases and I do fill it in every year! There is even an automatic assessment, which you can adjust, built into the tax software!</p>
<p>D put her babysitting money on the untaxed line of FAFSA and wrote an explanation on verification forms as to why she wasn’t submitting W-2s/1099s. It’s a small amount, not meeting the minimum for tax filing. Please don’t get in the habit of cheating and looking over your shoulder (emotionally) now, kids! It’s not worth it and will affect you in ways you don’t expect! My guess is you’d get more points with FA if you do have a problem and they see you were honest on the small things that many kids cheat on. Your reputation should be one of integrity, not deceit.</p>
<p>Integrity is a funny thing. You either have it or your don’t. It doesn’t depend on whether or not someone will find out, or whether or not you’ll get caught.</p>
<p>My brother tips my boys $20 when they help him move stuff up to his 5th floor walk up. My neighbor occassionally gives them a few bucks for helping out too.</p>
<p>I also give kids either presents or pizza/movie money for helping me out with a one-time thing…I’ve always regarded it as a thank you gift and wouldn’t expect them to report it as earned income! Especially if there’s no employer-employee relationship and no pre-arranged payment for services.</p>
<p>You see, there is that gray area. Gift or pay? Tip? My son reports his dog walking money because it is a regular prearranged service. But if the neighbor gives him money for helping him clean the garage or do some things, he regards that as a gift as he would have done it for free anyways. Also amounts make a difference too. This is all a very gray area. If the numbers are over SS reporting minimums and regular pre arranged payments, I think there is an obligation to report money. If you are doing a favor and get an unexpected tip, I don’t. Family money doesn’t count either as it really is in the gift category.</p>