I’ve never done a fafsa before so I’m not too sure how it looks considering I still need to apply. I told my mom that I would need her and my dad’s info soon. My mom is insisting that I only put her info even though they both live with me. I assume this isn’t possible to even do considering they have multiple individual bills leading back to this apartment. They both agree with this so I’m worried they’re going to be stubborn when it comes to giving me their info. What do I do if my parents refuse to give me the proper info? I planned to get a job soon but I don’t actually have a job yet so I’m not sure what info I could provide.
Then you and your mom would be committing fraud. The federal government is not the people who you want to defraud.
You and your mom could face jail time, you and your mom will be responsible for repaying all aid that you received as a result of your completing fraudulent forms, you will be kicked out of school or have your degree rescinded.
The information will show up if you ever apply for a job where a back ground check or security clearance is necessary. Since everything goes through the IRS (and you will have to submit 2016 tax information this for 2018-2019 and 2017 information for 2019-2020), it would be found out soon enough. The schools that provide the most financial aid will most likely still ask for the income and assets of both of your parents.
Instead of looking for ways to defraud the government, find our how much they are willing to pay for school and make sure that you compose a list where you have some financially feasible options.
ETA: since you are applying to CUNY, are your working? You can help your parents split the costs.
If you reside with BOTH parents…you are REQUIRED to put both incomes and assets on the FAFSA. REQUIRED.
It’s not a choice.
It is fraud to gain financial aid by knowingly providing incorrect information. Fraud is a CRIME. In addition to losing any financial aid you might gain…you also would likely lose your offer of admission, and be fined.
Just curious…how does your mom file her taxes?
Are your parents married? That doesn’t matter for financial aid purposes if they are living together…but there IS a question on the FAFSA about parent marital status.
@syubbie719 they’re probably not willing to help me with much since they send my brother money here and there, they’re already dealing with him. My mom claims that she only put her mothers info when doing the fafsa even though both of her parents were working while living together, so I’m not sure how she didn’t get caught. She claims she didn’t get fined or penalized but she’s bad with money and forgetful(both my parents have really bad credit because they are generally sleazy with money and try to get over when it’s not worth it) so I’m pretty sure she did get fined or something and didn’t even notice it as a part of her debt. I’m not working yet but I’m going to start looking for non customer related work soon.
Are you eligible for Excelsior? Do your parents file taxes jointly? If yes, just ask to link to the IRS DTR (Data Retrieval Tool) and that will pick up the tax info directly.
Is there someone your mom respects who could tell her what a bad idea this is?
How does your dad feel about it?
I most likely do qualify for excelsior. I’m not sure how much my dad makes but it’s less than my mom, and she makes about 40k. I have heard about the data retrieval tool but I’m not sure if they file jointly(I’m not that tax savvy, the only time I got taxes done my mom did it for me and didn’t give me the entire refund). My dad agrees with it unfortunately. I don’t think they understand it’s only going to cost me more in the long run if I lie. What do I do if they refuse to give me his info? I don’t want to lie and get extra money someone else could use.
Ok…straight talk.
If your parents are married, they will need to indicate MARRIED on the FAFSA form. Their tax filing status if living together will either be married filing jointly OR married filing separately. No other options.
Colleges REQUIRE a tax return verification of some sort. If your parents file jointly, they can use the IRS DRT when completing the FAFSA. This will include both incomes. Or they can send a tax transcript.
If they file separately, they cannot use the DRT…and will be required…listen again…required…to send a tax transcript for BOTH parents.
If your mom indicates “married” and is filing any other way than above…then she has tax filing issues which are a whole other story.
Look up the word FRAUD in a dictionary. Read carefully what it means.
Also remember, if you get federal need based aid…it’s fraud at a federal level. You really want to do this?
If your mom makes $40,000 a year, you aren’t likely to get the full Pell Grant anyway.
What does she hope to gain beside YOU losing your aid, and possible admission offers.
You need a different financial plan than being dishonest on the financial aid application forms.
I feel for you. When I was applying to CUNY schools (back in the 1970’s), my father actually considered quitting his job so I would get financial aid. He had just recently gotten a job with the City, which had benefits and a pension, so my mom talked him out of that plan. They agreed to provide their financial info for me to file, but refused to pay a penny towards my costs. Maybe you can do that with your parents. Ask them to file honestly, for FAFSA and Excelsior, and tell them that they don’t have to pay for anything your FA doesn’t cover. Then, get a job and open an account at a bank other than where your parents bank. Online tax filing is very easy now. File your own taxes and get your refunds directly deposited. My parents (in my case it was my dad who was the fraudster) stole my tax refunds, too. If your mother asks if you got a refund, LIE!
I appreciate the replies. @thumper1 I don’t want to lie, trust me. I just want them to give me their info for FAFSA, excelsior and TAP. I don’t mind working while going to school, and CUNY schools tend to be the cheapest so it’s not even as much as other states.
@techmom99 Yeah I definitely plan to file my own taxes. I was 15 when I had that job for a brief time so I didn’t know how to do my own taxes or anything like that. They’re secretive about their money unfortunately so it complicates this entire thing.
If you get selected for verification (which is more likely if your parents do not use the IRS transfer tool), you will have to provide an IRS tax transcript. If your parents file a joint return, the game will be over.
On the other hand, if you refuse to sign the FAFSA because your parents are lying, you will get zero grants. You may be able to get the unsubsidized loan if the school exempts you from providing parent information by professional judgment. The usual reason for that is the student has no contact with the parents, is escaping abuse, etc. I have no idea what financial aid officers do if the student says, “the problem is my parents want to commit fraud.”
the process was so different when your mother applied to college, decades ago. Before you get a penny, your information now has to be verified by the IRS. So is your mom now talking about trying to defraud 2 federal agencies? this will not work out well and you will be the one to suffer.
If their combined income is less than 110k, you will be eligible for an excelsior scholarship. Tell the truth, take the student loan if you have to in order to attend CUNY, but don’t close doors on your future unnecessarily.
You are in a tough situation but don’t commit fraud. It’s not like it was when your mom applied. With both my son’s CSS profile forms they both had to supply IDOC. This was a list of federal tax returns, 1099’s, W-2 etc. You can’t lie. These forms have to be scanned or mailed to the college board who will pass the info onto your college.
IDOC is used is used by some colleges requiring the CSS Profile. I don’t believe it is used by ANY schools using the FAFSA only.
But times have definitely changed…and this student will need to provide tax return verification either by using the ITS Data Retrieval Tool…or by sending tax transcripts.
Oops…you are correct. I made the change. My bad.