<p>Well, suppose my income statement says that my dad(mom doesn't work) has a takes home 25k a year, of which 5k is cash allowance...which is not shown on the tax returns.</p>
<p>And only 20k is taxed.</p>
<p>So in the CSS Profile, what am I supposed to give in the parents income for the year section? 25k or 20k?</p>
<p>There is a separate section for allowance at the bottom, but I was thinking if I put 25k as income and 5 k as allowance, they might think that total income was 30k. Or that taxed income was wayy lower than total income.</p>
<p>So what do I put in the family income for the year, and the food/housing allowance, and the income taxed?</p>
<p>I need to submit this thing really soon.</p>
<p>It looks like your dad has 20k of taxed income, and 5k of untaxed income.</p>
<p>I thought all “extra” income was taxed … I would think a cash allowance would be taxed. Why wouldn’t it? That should be part of taxable income on the tax form. What exactly is a cash allowance? Is it money paid to your dad to reimburse him for travel, housing, and food when he is on the road for work? If so, I don’t think that would be reported as untaxed income … it is reimbursement. But I am not sure. I know we have tax pros on this forum. Hopefully, one will post.</p>
<p>Umm, I asked a few people. Apparently, for government employees in my country, only the basic pay is taxed, the allowance for food/housing is not. I don’t know why. </p>
<p>So…if I put X in the wages/salaries/tips(as I have been told by other gov employees) and Y in the food/housing allowance, would the colleges see that the annual income is X+Y?</p>
<p>because if they don’t, and just count the basic pay as the annual income, i ll have a huge need…reducing my chances.</p>
<p>“Enter the cash value of any living allowances, such as the rental value of rent free housing (clergy’s parsonage), any utilities paid on their behalf, etc. provided to your parent(s) as a member of the military, clergy or other profession”—this is the explanation for the allowance thing in CSS.</p>
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<p>Okay, so do that. IIRC, the questions on FAFSA and CSS are not that confusing if you don’t try so hard to figure out how it’s going to look in the end; just fill out the forms. If it asks, “How much did you make in wages?” you put in the money you made in wages; that’s clearly reported on pay stubs and W2 forms. If it says, “Enter the amount of any living allowances,” you do that.</p>
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<p>Umm, yeah. The financial aid staff can add. They will do with this information what they will.</p>
<p>It looks like the OP is an international applicant, so FAFSA won’t be an issue, just the Profile.</p>