<p>Some people say working in the summer is not effective as a college student because since you make money, you have to pay tax and they give you less financial aid money and then you are back to square one. Now let's say you don't get financial aid because you have exhausted your remaining time eligibility for financial aid or your parents' income level is too high, then that's different, but how about if you are in your first 4-6 years of financial aid eligibility and you get a 0 EFC? Is it still worth working in the summer if you have a 0 EFC? </p>
<p>Can anyone help me out? Yes, I am aware that UCs make students cover for self-contribution of $2,000 per year regardless of income level and EFC. What happens if you make more than $2,000 in the summer? Does the extra money get taxed even more?</p>
<p>You know Chaos, there is more to working in the summer than you are saying here. FIRST…the amount of earnings above a certain amount are assessed for financial aid purposes. I’m sorry but what better way to contribute to your college costs than by working YOURSELF. Wouldn’t it make you proud that some of your costs were actually being paid by YOU? </p>
<p>In addition to helping pay for college costs, your also have the potential to gain valuable work experience. When you eventually graduate, it will look FAR better on your resume for you to have worked in the summers than to have done NOTHING. </p>
<p>I’m sorry but I fail to understand why students (and sometimes parents) feel that working to partially fund their college educations isn’t “worth it”. Sorry…but I don’t understand that type of thinking. First, you are expecting OTHERS to pay for things that you have the potential to earn yourself, and second, you dont’ seem to see the value in actually working to achieve a goal.</p>
<p>Here is a true story…so you will know about the tax implications. DD worked full time two summers ago. She earned $4300. Even adding her work study earnings to that, she still did NOT have enough earned income to even NEED to file a tax return. She did anyway to get back a small amount of federal withholding. The tax implication for her was…well…$0.</p>
<p>In most cases it is worth it for a student to work. </p>
<p>For FAFSA, a dependent student has a certain amount of protected income that does not affect the EFC at all. It is $5250 for the 2011-2012 school year (plus a little more in allowances for any related taxes, FICA etc).</p>
<p>Also if student’s parents are very low income and qualify for the automatic 0 EFC, then the students income is disregarded altogether however high it is.</p>
<p>Yes. If a student earns over the protected allowance (excluding any taxable financial aid such as WS), and does not qualify for the auto 0, then 50% of anything over the allowance (plus more allowances for taxes/fica etc) goes to the EFC.</p>
<p>It’s definitely worth it. You want the experience on your resume, and what you learn, no matter what the job, is beneficial as well. The money is nice, too.</p>
<p>It’s almost always worth it. The only time it is not, is if it puts you at a tipping point where you end up losing a lot. For example, if you lose PELL eligibility that is also tied into other awards like TAP, SEOGH, Perkins. </p>
<p>Also if on fin aid at a PROFILE school, ask how much of the student’s pay will be assessed against financial aid. It’s not likely to be dollar for dollar.</p>
<p>Where it can hurt is if a kid finds a job on campus and the money he makes is all gone for living expenses and then he is assessed a percentage of it for financial aid purposes. I’ve known kids who have gotten jobs in locales and after paying room, board, expenses, they end up with a net big fat zero for college. But if they are living at home, that money can go towards living expenses and that payment due in August. My son has already assured us that $3K will be going to us.</p>
<p>Yes, I would be proud knowing the fact that I made partial contribution to my total cost of attendance.</p>
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<p>Yes, I understand that some work experience is better than nothing, but I also know that working in a research group in the summer will give me more undergraduate research experience in the summer which I would need for graduate school. </p>
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<p>I am not expecting my parents to cover my full cost of attendance and in fact they don’t since I have a 0 EFC and I’ve covered all of my costs through loans so far except for like gas money (to pay my driver to ride between breaks; I don’t own a car) and cell phone bills. The whole point in me making this thread is to decide between working in a research group in the summer with an unpaid position and working a paid position that is not science related. The whole point of this thread is NOT to decide between working or not working.</p>
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<p>What is the maximum amount of money not counting Work Study that you can make without needing to file a tax return?</p>
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<p>Can you elaborate what you mean by “automatic 0 EFC”? How is an “automatic 0 EFC” different from a regular EFC?</p>
<p>There are 2 special formulas in FAFSA. The simplified needs test where assets are ignored. It requires an AGI under $50k plus meeting one of several other criteria. And the automatic 0 EFC where everything is ignored other than the parent AGI. It requires a parent AGI of <$31,000 plus meeting one of several other criteria.</p>
<p>If a family qualifies for the auto 0 then all other data is ignored. For instance student income is ignored and untaxed parent income is ignored. For someone who does not qualify for the automatic 0 EFC the other data is taken into account. So, for instance, family A parents have a $30,000 income but do not meet one of the other criteria for the auto 0. If the student earned $15250 then after the protected student income allowance of $5250 (without any other allowances) the student would have $10,000 income that would be considered in the formula - 10,000 x 50% = 5,000 impact on the EFC. Family B has exactly the same situation but files a 1040A which, along with the <$31k AGI, qualifies them for the automatic 0 formula. All that the formula will look at is the AGI and the EFC will be automtically set at 0. The students income would be ignored and would have no impact on the EFC.</p>
<p>Thanks. I asked thumper1 this question but she hasn’t responded yet. Would you happen to know the answer to this question? Here it goes:</p>
<p>What is the maximum amount of money not counting Work Study that you can make without needing to file a tax return?</p>
<p>Would a person who qualifies for the automatic 0 EFC still be expected to pay tax to the IRS if he made too much money? What would be the cut off for the income needed to pay tax?</p>
<p>Well…work study counts as income, I believe. The maximum without needing to file is about $5200, I think. Work study income does NOT count as income for FAFSA purposes. BUT I believe it does for income tax purposes.</p>
<p>The auto $0 EFC is based on your PARENT’S earnings. The student could still have income that could require them to file income taxes. The amount the student earns determines whether they file income taxes, not the EFC or income their parents have.</p>
<p>Thumper didn’t respond because she was working :)</p>
<p>P.S. Thanks for clarifying Chaos. If you have the chance to earn some needed money, only YOU and your family can weigh that option against an unpaid internship opportunity. Some unpaid internships can lead to paid employment in the future and that is good. HOWEVER, some students cannot take unpaid summer positions because they NEED an income to help support college costs. That is a determination that only you and your family can make.</p>
You are mixing apples and oranges here. Qualifying for the auto 0 on FAFSA has absolutely no bearing on whether you would be required to file a tax return. My daughter does qualify for the auto 0 and she (and we) do have to file tax returns. She has to because her income plus her taxable scholarships take her over the cut off for being required to file taxes. We have to because our income, while not high, is over the cut off for filing taxes. But some people might not have to, depending on their income. </p>
<p>The cut offs for filing taxes can be complicated. They depend on things like whether you are single or not single, whether you can be claimed on someone elses tax return or not, whether your income is earned income, unearned income, self employment income etc etc.</p>
<p>For a student who is single, claimed as a dependent, and whose income is all earned income through a regular job that comes with a W2 (not self employment income), the standard deduction for 2010 was $5700. Income over that (including WS which is taxable and any taxable scholarships) would require a tax return to be filed. Income under that amount that comes from other sources (such as self employment) may mean the cut off is lower.</p>
<p>To be honest, it’s really none of your business…like it’s none of MINE why a college student would be posting at all hours of the day and night (which I could be asking you). But I will answer. </p>
<p>Chaos, I, like many other full time employees do a significant amount of job related work from home. To further answer you question, MANY folks have part time jobs of some sort that easily could run from 3:30-5:30…in fact many high school students do this to earn money to help pay for college. Think babysitting, mowing lawns, pet sitting, after school receptionist at your school (ours had this and it was a paying job), etc. There are MANY jobs like this.</p>
<p>chaos, ever heard the expression “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”?</p>
<p>Thumper gives of her time in this forum to help people who need it. It’s not a good idea to question what kind of job kept her from answering you immediately. Sheesh.</p>
<p>All of the regulations about federal taxes, and all of the forms, are on the web at [Internal</a> Revenue Service](<a href=“http://www.irs.gov%5DInternal”>http://www.irs.gov) If your city and/or state has a separate income tax, the regulations and forms would be available through the city and/or state website. It looks like you haven’t filed taxes yourself yet, but don’t be scared of the IRS website. It isn’t hard to use. It also is OK to email them, call them on the phone, or visit one of their regional offices in person. When I have needed to ask a question about taxes, I have always received a reasonably quick response.</p>
<p>Lastly, deciding between a paid and unpaid summer position is difficult. Especially when it is a lab position that could lead to a publication, or at least give you the kind of contact with your PI that will result in a good recommendation for grad school. As you apply for these summer positions, don’t be afraid to ask whether or not the PI can scare up a bit of money for you. After all, you are sacrificing prime summer-earnings time, and you are likely to be a lot less expensive for that PI than a paid lab technician! If the only thing on offer is unpaid work in the lab, stop by the university library, cafeteria, etc. and find out if they have any summer work that is paid. You can be in the lab part of the time, and making money elsewhere part of the time.</p>
<p>**To be honest, it’s really none of your business…like it’s none of MINE why a college student would be posting at all hours of the day and night (which I could be asking you). But I will answer. </p>
<p>Chaos, I, like many other full time employees do a significant amount of job related work from home. To further answer you question, MANY folks have part time jobs of some sort that easily could run from 3:30-5:30…in fact many high school students do this to earn money to help pay for college. Think babysitting, mowing lawns, pet sitting, after school receptionist at your school (ours had this and it was a paying job), etc. There are MANY jobs like this.**</p>
<p>Well I was just wondering and thanks. As you can see, I’ve never had a part time job before.</p>
<p>**chaos, ever heard the expression “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”?</p>
<p>Thumper gives of her time in this forum to help people who need it. It’s not a good idea to question what kind of job kept her from answering you immediately. Sheesh. **</p>
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<li>Patsmom</li>
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<p>I was wondering about her time patterns not demanding immediate answers.</p>
<p>You don’t have to fear getting a summer job. You’ll probably only earn about $3k or so…not enough to hurt EFC and not enough to pay much, if anything, in taxes.</p>