<p>My parents don't file taxes because they live outside the USA. Can apply for financial aid using FAFSA & CSS PROFILE without US tax forms?</p>
<p>Are your parents US citizens or Permanent Residents? If so, they should be filing the US tax paperwork every year. If they only have foreign income, chances are that they won’t owe any taxes, but they still are obligated to file a return that says they owe $0. For details visit [Internal</a> Revenue Service](<a href=“http://www.irs.gov%5DInternal”>http://www.irs.gov)</p>
<p>Are you a US citizen or Permanent Resident? If so, you can file the FAFSA. If not, you can’t. For details, visit the FAFSA website.</p>
<p>Are you a US citizen or Permanent Resident with non-citizen and non-Permanent Resident Parents? If so, you can file the FAFSA. Convert their income into dollars and use it on the form. For details, contact FAFSA.</p>
<p>thx for the reply.</p>
<p>I am a US citizen.
Mom is a green card holder.
Father is deceased (not a US citizen/Permanent Resident)</p>
<p>I have been telling my mom for the past two years to file her blasted taxes…she said she will do it but I know she isn’t gonna :(</p>
<p>But the FAFSA & PROFILE ask for tax information, and some colleges require copies of the tax forms…</p>
<p>She doesn’t pay any taxes in the country she lives in either…</p>
<p>Since she is living outside the US, and not filing taxes, she risks losing her Permanent Resident status. Ask her if she really wants to keep that status. It’s OK if she doesn’t. But, if she does want to maintain it she needs to take the steps necessary to do just that.</p>
<p>As a US citizen yourself, you do have the option of just packing your bags, moving here, getting a job, and establishing in-state residence for yourself. In Maryland you would be considered in-state for the community colleges after three months residence, and in-state for the public universities after 12 months. Other states have different time requirements, and no matter where you live, your mom would be part of the financial aid application process until you are 24 or meet one of the other requisites for independent status.</p>
<p>Your situation is tough. I wish you all the best.</p>
<p>I’m already in the US. I live in NYC, and I currently enrolled in one of the worst high schools in NYC. I really hate the school so I plan to go to one of the CUNY schools in the spring semester next year, but my problem is that I haven’t been in NYC long enough to qualify for in-state tuition or state aid. I can only apply for federal aid but i need tax forms…</p>
<p>The problem is even worse if I tried any private schools…they want a more comprehensive understanding of your finances and requires documentations that I don’t have…</p>
<p>You only need tax forms if your mom was required to file a tax form. If she was not, then you do not need them. You just report any income she had - if it was foreign, you convert it into U.S. dollars. If someone was supporting her, that support is reported as untaxed income.</p>
<p>Warning to you & anyone else whose parents do not file taxes: if they were REQUIRED to file but did not, and you are chosen for verification, your parent must file or you will NOT get federal aid.</p>
<p>My mom is a green card holder so she is required to file taxes; she shouldn’t even be living outside the country.</p>
<p>as a permanent resident and U.S. national, she is required to pay taxes, yes.</p>
<p>do you live alone, if your parents live outside the country and you live in NYC?</p>
<p>I live with a friend of my mom</p>
<p>If your mom was required to file & did not do so, you are not eligible to receive aid. Please encourage your mother to file her 2009 taxes so that you are eligible for aid.</p>
<p>I am wondering, though, about “the rest of the story.” Why are you living with a friend of your mother, rather than with your mom? It sounds like maybe she left the country when she should not have done so?? Are you in touch with her? Your answers may be rather personal, so you don’t need to share them here. If you want, though, you can pm me & maybe I can offer some advice based on your unique situation.</p>
<p>lol my situation is indeed unique…</p>
<p>She always lived outside the US, even after getting her green card. I lived with her too, I only recently came back to establish residency. The problem is that I was suppose to stay in high school for two years because I’m so young, but I absolutely hate my high school. It is one of the worst high schools in the city!</p>
<p>I have been encouraging her to file taxes for the past two years, and it is clear to me now that she has no intentions of filing. I guess she is afraid that they would find out that she has been living outside the US and lose her green card (as if she even uses it -_-’ )</p>
<p>Well … if she doesn’t live in the U.S., I assume she doesn’t earn money in the U.S. … in which case, she is not required to file taxes. The financial aid folks don’t care about her green card situation. What they care about is if she was REQUIRED TO FILE based on income. If not, that’s that.</p>
<p>Does she earn money in her home country? If so, is she required to file taxes THERE? Does she? These are the pertinent questions for your mom. If her country doesn’t require her to file, she just reports her income converted to U.S. dollars based on the exchange rate the day you file the FAFSA. If she is required to file taxes in her home country, she would report her income & her taxes converted to U.S. dollars. If she is required to file there & doesn’t, you are out of luck. If she doesn’t earn any money, and if you report 0 income for her, you will most likely end up selected for verification. In that case, you will need to provide documentation of how she lives on no income.</p>
<p>High schools in NYC aren’t zoned in most places - can’t you apply to attend another NYC high school?</p>
<p>Kelsmom, isn’t it true that even if she only earns foreign income that she’s required to file U.S. taxes? I thought that was the case.</p>
<p>In order to determine if she was required to file, she would need to go to the IRS website & do the green card holder checklist. I can’t say whether or not she would actually have been required to file … she would need to determine that based on her individual circumstances.</p>
<p>Green card holders have the same filing requirements as US citizens. They are required to file US taxes wherever they are living, assuming they have enough income to be required to file. </p>
<p>However if the OPs mom has been out of the country for several years without returning then her Green card status is possibly lost or at least at risk already. I think you have to return every couple of years to maintain it. Not sure as I live here so have not really checked on the rules re living outside of the US lately.</p>
<p>
That is not accurate. Green card holders can certainly live outside the country. But there are requirements they must meet if they do so.</p>
<p>Yea High schools in NYC aren’t zoned if you are applying as a freshman. However, once enrolled in a school you can only transfer from that school while you are in 9th grade. Past 9th grade you are not allowed to transfer high schools unless there is a safety issue (requires a police report) or the commute to school is greater than 1.5 hours.</p>
<p>Even if she wasn’t required to file taxes, how am i going to verify her income? Some colleges require copies of tax forms, and can i still file a fafsa with tax info?</p>
<p>If she was not required to file, she just needs to fill out a non-tax filer statement. Every school has a non-filer form. Many people don’t file. She just has to complete the form & sign her name to it.</p>