Before any of this, I enrolled in community college during 2013-2014 and I didn’t have a job and my parents make low income so I got the full amount of financial aid.
During the spring of 2014, I filed for FAFSA and got the full amount of aid again for my 2014-2015 school year. I got a part-time job during the summer and made less than the threshold for dependents ($6,300 or $6400, was it?) so I didn’t file for a tax return since my CPA said it wasn’t absolutely necessary and if I wanted to, I could always file it later. Because of this, I didn’t feel like it was completely necessary to reveal on my FAFSA application that I had a job since 1) I didn’t make enough to even be penalized (and some college’s website said that I didn’t have to disclose jobs but maybe that was deceitful on their part and even worse on mine to follow their advice) and 2) I didn’t file a tax return.
But I ended up keeping my part-time job and this summer of 2015, I worked full time and made well over the threshold for dependents by the time summer ended. By then and like I mentioned earlier, I filed for FAFSA again during the spring of that respecting year and I am on full financial aid currently for my 2015-2016 school year.
If I file for financial aid again for the 2016-2017 school year and if I happen to get my application looked closer at (since 1/3 of applications will be pulled up for random closer verification), will they be suspicious that I kept my job from them and then make me pay back my financial aid or if not worse, make me pay the $20,000 fine and send me to jail? Should I go and confess my mistake to the financial aid office now?
If there’s a high chance I’ll be caught, I’m considering upping my hours considerably to somehow pay for the entire tuition myself for 2015-2016.
P.S. I do plan on filing for a tax return with my parents for the amount of money I made this year since I made over the dependent threshold and I don’t want to get into any trouble with the IRS. So in doing this, I’m admitting all my mistakes the last year and putting it all out for them to see.
If your FAFSA gets pulled for verification when you file next year, they will only be seeing that you have a job in 2015. They aren’t looking at previous years. Seeing that you had income for 2015 is not proof that you had income prior.
When you file next year, you will be reporting your job, right? So if you get verified, they will see that you have a job…which you did report.
You may have filed previous FAFSAs wrong, but how would they know that just by looking at your 2015 income info? They don’t ask for other years’ info…just the info for 2015
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Thank you for the insight, mom2collegekids!
Another quick question though.
If I kept my job and I didn’t report it ASAP like I’m supposed to and I’ve been on full financial aid this year but made over the threshold meaning I could have paid some of tuition thus lowering(or having it taken away) my aid, wouldn’t that have counted as withholding information?
So if they don’t compare my previous FAFSA forms with the one I’ll be doing next year, then there’s no issue whatsoever?
your aid THIS year if based on 2014. If you get a verification request in 2016, they will look at 2105 income…which you will list on your FAFSA.
You made over the threshold THIS YEAR…and you WILL report that when you file FAFSA in early 2016.
All it will look like is that you got a job in 2015. If you had just gotten your job in 2015, you’re not obligated to call up FA and say, Hey, I just got a job and I’m making $15k (or whatever). They would say, “report that on next FAFSA…”
While you should have reported the previous year’s income in previous FAFSA, the amounts were low enough that your aid would have been the SAME. Those previous years’ FAFSAs will not be a part of any possible verification request you might get in 2016.
https://www.edvisors.com/fafsa/eligibility/simplified-needs-test/
Also it depends on your parent’s income if your income even changes anything for the FAFSA. You are a dependent student for FAFSA? There are “simplified method” and “auto zero EFC” if you meet certain conditions. Read info in link above.
Did you have any federal or state tax withheld from your 2014 earnings? You might get that money back if you file a return.
When you file your 2015 tax return you will file your own return, not together with your parents.
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I do plan on filing for a tax return with my parents
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I missed that. You will file your own separate tax return.
Sorry, I’m not very familiar with tax jargon and how it works but since I’m a dependent, don’t I have to file with my parents? Or at least I thought that’s what dependents do.
No, you file your own return even if you are someone’s dependent.
Your parents will claim you as their dependent and take the personal exemption, but you still file your own taxes (usually a 1040EZ) and you still get the standard deduction of $6300 (so you won’t pay taxes on the first $6300 you earn).
quote so I didn’t file for a tax return since my CPA said it wasn’t absolutely necessary and if I wanted to, I could always file it later. Because of this, I didn’t feel like it was completely necessary to reveal on my FAFSA application that I had a job since 1) I didn’t make enough to even be penalized (and some college’s website said that I didn’t have to disclose jobs but maybe that was deceitful on their part and even worse on mine to follow their advice) and 2) I didn’t file a tax return.
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This is where you perhaps made a mistake. For 2014-15, you should have reported any income you made in 2013 on your FAFSA. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t file taxes, you must report income. For 2015-16 FAFSA, you must report anything you earned in 2014, etc. You don’t have to report where it came from, just what you earned. Once you file the FAFSA (usually in the spring) you don’t have to report any changes like a new job, more income until you file the next FAFSA.
Oh right yeah, 1040EZ is what it’s called. I planned on doing that.
I guess I’ll just file my upcoming 2016-2017 FAFSA as planned and put down my job/income. Thank you for clarifying!