So I turned in my FAFSA at the end of January and I didn’t pay taxes because I helped my uncle move boxes and furniture after he paid me cash. I also sold some various items such as clothes and items through apps and online to make money that year. In early April I got a notification from financial aid office at school saying that I need to turn in a Verification of non-filing from the irs along with a v1 verification form. So now I’m waiting for the non filing form and I get it takes time. Now it’s early May and I’m still waiting for the non-filing form.In the meantime, I thought I should complete the v1 verification form so when the non-filing form comes I’ll turn it in right away. But When I checked to see the income that I put on my FAFSA I noticed that I accidentally put 5291 instead of 5891 in the untaxed income. is it too late to tell financial aid at my school that I made a mistake on my FAFSA?
What was the $5,891 in untaxed income from?
It was from helping my uncle move boxes and selling items that year. I was supposed to put 5891 but I accidentally put 5291. I want to tell financial aid at my school I made a mistake but is it too late?
you can’t change the figures on the FAFSA once it is sent in. A school can change it if it gets info (from taxes, from verification) that the number is incorrect.
You can send it to the school with the verification statement. It should not matter because both $5291 and $5891 are under the standard deduction.
Thanks for the reply.Also, what do you mean under the standard deduction?
If you had filed taxes for 2017, you would have been able to take a $6400 standard deduction, so no taxes owed on earnings under $6400. That’s why you didn’t have to file.
Was this money from your uncle earned in 2017?
If you made a mistake, I think you CAN change the numbers on the FAFSA, if you entered them.
@kelsmom ??
@twoinanddone this is untaxed income.
What WAS that untaxed income @theo00
@BelknapPoint sounds to me like this student did some self employed work and would be required to file taxes…am I wrong?
@theo00 And are you an independent student? Is that what you indicated on that FAFSA? What gives you that status?
Basically, my Fafsa got selected for verification. The financial aid office at my school said to get a non-filing form from the irs and when you get it turn it in along with a v1 independent verification form. I sent a request in the mail to irs around early April. Its early may now. So I’ve waited a while but last week I decided I would fill out the v1independent verification form. So when the non filing form comes I could turn in both right away. When I checked my FAFSA it turns out that instead of putting $5891 in the untaxed income I put $5291. Will financial aid at my school still be willing to change it?
Money you earned from your uncle for moving boxes should not be reported on FAFSA as untaxed income; it should be reported as money you earned from working (FAFSA question 39). It’s taxable income, but no income tax is owed on it as long as your total earnings from the year do not exceed your standard deduction.
As thumper1 points out, you may have been required to file a tax return and pay self employment tax on this money, depending on all the circumstances involved.
Money you received from selling personal items should not be reported as income on FAFSA at all, unless you realized a gain (meaning you sold an item for more than you paid for it). The amount of any gain would be taxable income to you. If when you filed FAFSA you still had the money from selling the items, you would have needed to report it as an asset. Basically, you converted an asset that did not need to be reported on FAFSA to an asset that did need to be reported.
@thumper1 Not sure what you mean by what WAS that untaxed income? yes, I am an Independent student. I am 29 and at that time I didn’t live at home
@BelknapPoint I’m not sure what you mean. I know I could be wrong but I thought money that was given to you by cash was only supposed to be filed under untaxed income. Also, I didn’t know that about the selling items, thanks.
Did your uncle issue a W2 form for your work? A 1099? Or were you paid “under the table”
If 1099 self employed work, you probably were required to file a return…depending on the circumstances…what were they? That’s a LOT of money to just earn willy nilly.
What reason was there for you NOT to file a return? That will need to be documented on the non-filers statement.
For the items you sold, did you sell them for more than the initial price you paid for them, i.e. at a profit? If not, then it’s not taxable income.
Yes, you are wrong. If you earned the money through services you performed, it’s taxable income. It doesn’t matter that you were paid in cash. If money earned and paid for with cash was considered untaxed income, everyone would be demanding to be paid with cash to avoid taxes. As I said above, the proper place on FAFSA to report the money (cash) your uncle paid you to move boxes is question 39: “How much did you earn from working in 2017?”
@thumper1 I was paid “under the table”. Also, the money that came from working in for my uncle was around 3,000. The rest came from selling various. Also, thanks for the replies
@NYDreammom Yes, they sold more. Also, thanks for the reply
@BelknapPoint any suggestion on what I should do? Should u leave it as is or change it?
@thumper1 @BelknapPoint Just wondering, do you know why my verification of non filing letter is taking so long? I sent it in early April. It’s now early may. Is it because of tax season?
Money that is paid to you “under the table” is still legally taxable.
You need to correct the FAFSA error. You should also think about filing a 2017 tax return if the circumstances require the payment of self employment taxes.
What kind of items did you sell for more than you paid for them?
@BelknapPoint ok,thanks I think that round back to my main question. is it too late to make corrections on fafsa?
electronics, shoes, clothes…etc
If you made a mistake on an entry on your FAFSA in the income section, I believe you can change it.
Here is how to find out…get out your FSA ID info and go into your FAFSA to amend. If the area cannot be changed, it will be greyed out and you won’t be able to make a change.
Otherwise, you can change the field.
One thought…this very likely is the reason you were selected for verification…maybe call the school and ask?
What was your net income on the things you sold…cost vs sale price?
@thumper1 Do you think I can actually ask the school? is that the kind of information that they could actually release? Also, do you think I should tell them that I am going to change something on the FAFSA before I do it or is it fine just to change it because I checked and the FAFSA area can be clicked.
You are selected for verification, so the school will update your income on your FAFSA for you during the verification process. You can go in & update it now if you want, but they are going to do it, anyway, when they see the income you put on your verification form.
Be aware that some of your aid “could” change … but with such a small difference, it probably won’t. However, if you have Pell, it might move you into a new band with a different payment amount.
@kelsmom thanks for the reply