<p>Here is the situation, I live with my dad and step mom. For one of my college applications (I've been accepted already and plan to attend), I filled out the household income, household members, etc. without the help of my dad..only asked him what the income was between him and my step mom. I just finished filling out FAFSA tonight and when I saw his W2 and 1040 Forms, he was actually listed as single..so they aren't legally married. Therefore the household income is half of what it was on my college application, and the household members listed on FAFSA is only me and my dad rather than 4 on the college application (me, dad, step mom, step brother), and he is listed as single as opposed to remarried on the college app. Do you guys think anything negative will happen because of this? Thanks for any help.</p>
<p>You need to talk to your dad. You need to find out if he is really single, or if he files that way for some reason. The answer will help us to advise you on your next step. Also, what state? Common law marriage is legal in some states (they wouldn't have to be legally married to be legally considered "as good as married").</p>
<p>He files single to pay less taxes I'm assuming..and I live in Florida.</p>
<p>Is he really single, though? I mean, are they actually married? If they are not legally married than you only need his information. If he is legally married, filing his taxes as single is fraud, he should be filing as "married" or "married-filing separately". You filing the FAFSA as him single would also be fraud.</p>
<p>You should read the thread called "Did I do something wrong?" on this board. It has been quite interesting.</p>
<p>I continue to be amazed at what some people do with their taxes!</p>
<p>Submit the FAFSA correctly (I have no advice on what the correct info is). Then redo the school's financial aid form with the correct info. Include a short note that you misinterpreted the form. If they ask questions, then you can give them the details.</p>
<p>If your dad and step mom are MARRIED...it doesn't matter at all how your dad files his taxes in regards to the info you put on the FAFSA. If they are married, you MUST include them both on the FAFSA. You need to find out if they are married.</p>
<p>First of all, you should sit with your dad and fill out the FAFSA together. Down load the file and print out the form. Highlight your dad's part of the questions, and go over them with him. Or let him complete it. They may not be legally married. I know families who have had a "marriage" ceremony but for financial reasons have not legally tied the knot. One of my relatives who is on social security falls into that category. Apparently she loses a very nice social security income if she marries, and her significant other cannot make up for that. Also issues with assets and kids. Makes the paper work easier by not marrying. But they did have a social marriage ceremony and most people think of them as married. They are not in a community marriage state, however. I don't know at what point a community marriage state will go after a couple as married if they behave in that matter. One of those gray areas of the law.</p>
<p>OP, When I first read your post I made the assumption that the W-2 listed him as single. I do that myself so the withholding is high enough that I won't owe penalties for having too low taxes withheld. You do need to clarify your family situation though if he files as single on his taxes. That is different.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>You do need to clarify your family situation though if he files as single on his taxes. >></p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>The OP needs to clarify whether or not his parents are married. It does NOT matter how they file their taxes. If they are married, both the step mom and dad's incomes/assets must be reported....even IF the Dad files taxes as single.</p>
<p>Alright, clarified it with my dad. He is not legally married to my "step mom". I am the only dependent filed under his tax returns, my step brother is under my step mom's. I'm still stressed out about the whole situation though. Would I still put two members or four members under household members? Since technically there are four people in our household but I am the only one filed as dependent under my dad's tax returns...and would I still put single parent household since my dad is actually my only parent? And is the family information from my college application inputted to their database? I seem to have the marriage part sorted out, I'm just worried about the differences between the information UF has and what I put on the FAFSA.</p>
<p>I would just file under your dad and leave your "steps" off of the document.</p>
<p>The test for household members who are not related by marriage is whether or not the head of the household provides at least half their support. Our office generally does not allow live-ins to count as household members. We have folks who claim to support 5 nephews, 6 cousins, and a couple grandparents - all on 0 income. It's an amazing feat! We don't care who is listed as a deduction on the tax form - we just care who you actually support. In your case, if the "step mom" has a job, just list you & dad in the household size.</p>
<p>k-mom. is that the actual rule for household size, or the policy where you work? I do a lot of these with high school students and I tell them that anyone who lives under the same roof, showers, and stores their clothes there at least 6 months of the year, is a member of the household. That would seem to be along the lines of the head of household providing support. I know what you mean--all those people living on nothing. We don't wanna know. </p>
<p>But IMPORTANT--"dependents" on one's taxes, are DIFFERENT than dependents, independents, and so forth, in financial aid. An ex-spouse may claim a student on their TAXES, to get the tax break and if they provide child support, yet the Other parent may in fact provide more of the support and have custody of the student, and therefore be the named "parent" in the college matters.</p>
<p>So your college application and the tax situation may not match precisely and that is OK. (Just be ready to explain and document it if asked). Believe me, college financial aid offices have seen it all before!</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ifap.ed.gov/sfahandbooks/attachments/0809AVGCh2.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.ifap.ed.gov/sfahandbooks/attachments/0809AVGCh2.pdf</a>
Page 20 of the pdf gives the regs on this. "Other persons" are outlined around the middle of that page, and there is a sidebar explaining siblings who can be included.</p>
<p>How these regs are interpreted does vary from school to school. We are very strict. Schools make a policy & must stick with it, and it must be within the spirit of the law.</p>
<p>Radiimom, remember that 0=0. If the family is going to be 0 efc, 2 or 10 in the home is irrelevant. However, it can be an issue for those who are on the higher edge of the Pell schedule. I have had to disallow household members with the result of no more Pell eligibility - which means no more ACG, etc. It's a good idea to check with the school if there is any doubt. If the family can show support of a household member, then they can claim that person in the household size.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help, I'm just gonna contact the financial aid office and ask for advice.</p>
<p>Jaydilla01, you might want to think hard about how you prhase this. I know idea if florida respects common law marriage, but even if they do, it is not always easy to determine what the facts are. Just state the facts you know.</p>
<p>The way the tax returns are filed does matter, as it may delay or prevent Federal aid from being disbursed on behalf of the student. If the FAFSA is selected for verification, the school will ask for the tax returns. If the father and his partner are legally married but the father has filed his tax return as single or head of household, the school will require him to amend his tax return or provide documentation from the IRS that he is legally allowed to use that filing status. The IRS typically will not provide that type of documentation, especially since they do not know if the information they are being told is 100% accurate and putting it in writing locks them into a decision that is binding if the person is ever audited, regardless of the facts they discover during the audit.</p>
<p>The Department of Education demands that schools understand filing status requirements and that the schools ensure that the returns they collect as part of verification reflect the proper filing status, per IRS regulation.</p>
<p>I have required many students and parents to amend their tax returns and withheld federal funding when they refuse.</p>
<p>So the OP needs to clarify the marital status of his father and his partner as well as clarify the filing status both use if they are married.</p>