<p>"If your parents are U.S citizens or eligible non-citizens and are not required to file a 2008 U.S.income tax return, they must submit a Non-tax Filer's Statement and supporting documentation."</p>
<p>What kind of eligibility is the IDOC referring to here for non-citizens? My parents are not U.S. citizens, they used to be U.S. residents before moving to their home country. I myself am a U.S. citizen currently living in Taiwan. My parents therefore have not filed any U.S. income tax returns for four years. They have filed income tax returns in Taiwan. </p>
<p>Must I include the parental Non-tax Filer's Statement? How can I explain this situation? The IDOC gives the option of sending an "Other Signed 2008 Non-U.S. Tax Return". However, in the Taiwanese system 2008 income taxes haven't been completed, so we only have the 2007 version. In addition, all documents are in traditional Mandarin. Must I have them translated?</p>
<p>How can I address these issues?
Thanks.</p>
<p>Your best source of advice will be fafsa itself because this is a tough question and I have no direct experience yet in these matters. However, it <em>might</em> be the case where you still need to predictively and as accurately as possible estimate 2008 (technically, 2008 taxes are not yet due in America either...yet we're all doing them early for FAFSA...).</p>
<p>As a U.S. permanent resident myself, I also know that if my son, a permanent resident yet still a Canadian citizen, had gone to a Canadian school and received Canadian aid, there was a differential on the amount pending the receipt of a manually submitted copy of my U.S. tax return...with the differential being available at a later date. The U.S. tax return would have been manually reviewed and verified. Which is not to say the U.S. works the same way...</p>
<p>So...since you're a citizen and your parents <em>were</em> eligible non-citizens (legal residents) I expect one way or another FAFSA will need to engage in a verification process with you they way Canada would have needed to with me in order to release the full aid according to the full eligibility picture. I hope that helps somewhat, but again, you may wish to go to the source on this one.
Cheers,
K</p>