<p>Both of my parents are citizen. 18 years ago they decided to moved oversea (Vietnam) and according to my parents, they had been file tax return up until 2005. The US emphacy told them they don't have to keep file tax if they make low income. And my parents doesn't have much income whatsoever. And in Vietnam they don't have to pay tax for anything. So they stopped filing tax. Five years ago they sent me back to Indiana for high school and I've been living with my grandparents. I recently filled out my FAFSA information and they asked for my parents tax return and stuff. Since they didn't file tax so I put down zero for everything. I got most of my support from my grandparents but i can't file their information because they're not my legal guardians or anything. Would I get any financial aids money for college or because of my parents not filing tax I wouldn't be eligible for anything? Please helppp!!!</p>
<p>You have to report whatever income they have whether or not they file a tax return.</p>
<p>If your parents are not required to file a tax return, it is not necessary that they do so in order for you to get aid. Ask them how much they earned in 2012, and figure out how much that is in U.S. dollars. That is what you put on the FAFSA, and taxes paid = 0 (put “not required to file” for tax filing status).</p>
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No. You can’t zero for every question just because your parents have low income and not require to file tax returns.</p>
<p>I always think that you should always file your tax returns even if you have zero income.</p>
<p>You’re a citizen, right?</p>
<p>Even if your parents have a low income, you have to list that small amount. You may get selected for verification if the amount is so low that they wonder how your family lives on such a low income. </p>
<p>Another concern may be whether you are considered “instate” for Indiana. Does Indiana have any laws that state that a student who attends high school in the state will be considered “instate” for tuition purposes? If not, then you’d be considered OOS for Indiana schools.</p>
<p>Even with an EFC of 0, you may not get enough aid to attend the schools that you want, so be careful and apply to a few financial safeties to protect yourself.</p>
<p>What are your test scores and GPA? What schools are you applying to?</p>
<p>I have an Indiana driver license, and I was born in Indiana if that help. Also I had been in Indiana for over 5 years. I got accepted into IUPUI and I want to go there because my mom went there. My gpa is only 3.3 but it’s acceptable at IUPUI. Thank you!</p>
<p>Having an Indiana driver’s license and being born in the state isn’t enough to establish Indiana residency.</p>
<p>Please read the residency qualifications:</p>
<p><a href=“http://registrar.iupui.edu/residenc.html[/url]”>http://registrar.iupui.edu/residenc.html</a></p>
<p>Particularly pay attention to this part:
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<p>Do your grandparent have legal custody (i.e appointed guardians by a recognized US legal juridiction)? If they don’t have documentation, or if they only have something like a notorized permission to act in loco parentis, then you may not qualify for in-state tuition.</p>
<p>*I have an Indiana driver license, and I was born in Indiana if that help. Also I had been in Indiana for over 5 years. I got accepted into IUPUI and I want to go there because my mom went there. My gpa is only 3.3 but it’s acceptable at IUPUI. Thank you!
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<p>Those details aren’t what determines residency. Residency is often based on where your parents live. As WOWMom posts, it doesn’t look like you’re an Indiana resident for tuition purposes.</p>
<p>You need to contact IUPUI and find out if they consider you a resident or not.</p>
<p>Is that mean i won’t be able to receive in-state tuition? My parents simply sent me here with a note saying that my grandparents are in charge of me. They didn’t go to court or anything. So basicly my grandparents are not my legal guardians. Is that mean even if I have been living here and stuff i would still not be consider an Indiana resident? This is really confusing. What’s the point of being a citizen if I can’t even receive any benefit…</p>
<p>The benefits that you receive as a citizen would be federal aid. </p>
<p>You need to contact your college and find out if you’re considered an IN resident or not. At this point, it doesn’t look like you are. It just looks like you’re living with your grandparents while going to high school. Your parents still have all their legal rights over you. Your grandparents are essentially just “babysitting” you. </p>
<p>Look at it this way…your parents haven’t been paying any sort of taxes in the state of IN. They aren’t paying property taxes, gasoline taxes, sales taxes, income taxes…nothing, nada. So why should their child be considered to be a resident?</p>
<p>In some states, living there and graduating from high school is enough to qualify you for in-state tuition and fees. In other states it isn’t. You have to ask IUPUI. Even if you don’t automatically qualify, there may be a way to petition for that status.</p>
<p>Do ask about the guardianship issue. It may not be to late for your grandparents to be named your guardians, especially if you have had limited contact with your parents or if they have failed to support you.</p>
<p>[Frequently</a> Asked Questions Regarding Residence Classification](<a href=“http://registrar.iupui.edu/residenc.html]Frequently”>http://registrar.iupui.edu/residenc.html)</p>
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<p>You are a citizen of the United States but that doesn’t give you residency for tuition purposes in a particular state school. IUPI is a <em>state</em> public university which is supported by state residents. You are not being denied any citizenship rights. Depending on the state, it can even be possible to be a non-citizen and a state resident. </p>
<p>Here is their link about residency:
[Residency</a> Status for Fee-Payment Purposes](<a href=“http://registrar.iupui.edu/resident.html]Residency”>http://registrar.iupui.edu/resident.html)</p>
<p>I think you need to talk to your guidance counselor and then contact the university. Be sure to explain to them that you are living with your grandparents and have been in the state for a number of years. It may still be possible to change the status of your grandparents.</p>
<p>Different colleges in the same state may make different residency decisions about the same student. In my state, it is easier to be classified as instate for tuition purposes at a community college rather than a 4-year state college. If you are not able to resolve the issue at IUPI, you may want to look at the policies of your local cc.</p>
<p>You have to put down what your parents actually earn. If they do not make enough to file taxes, they will still need to get a non-tax filers form from the IRS. If your family makes an extremely low income, the college can and will ask them to fill out a low income verification form to establish how they are living on such a minimal income.</p>
<p>Your parents income has to be listed regardless, as Sybbie says, and you may have to get a non filers form from the IRS. You need to talk to the college financial aid office and get help from them in filling this out and also in clarifying state residency issues. Schools have different ways they enforce the residency rules and only by going ot the school itself can you see how they apply to you.</p>