<p>My parents adjusted gross income is 18,000 and my income is 10,000 as a student.<br>
My father also received a lump sum payment from workers compensation which is around 90,000. On the line parent's untaxed income (worker's compensation), I inputted that. </p>
<p>When I submitted, my EFC was 30,560!!! </p>
<p>Is it because of my father's workers compensation payout????? I called FAFSA twice and they told me, yes I have input 99,000 on the parent's untaxed income line. </p>
<p>Unfortunately that sounds about right for the total funds listed. If this is really a problem then I would recommend taking a gap year so the worker’s comp won’t be hitting the EFC.</p>
<p>I’m confused. If your father did get a lump sum payment it should have been added in as income on the federal return so their AGI should be the combined $18,000 of income and the $90,000 or total of $108,000.</p>
<p>Basically, my father injured his back and he decided to settle last year for $99,000. That means he cannot reopen his case against his former employer. This payment basically means that he has to take care of himself with this amount of money if his old debilitating pain comes back again. </p>
<p>We asked our accountant and he said that the worker’s compensation lump sum payment was not required for income taxes. </p>
<p>I guess worker’s compensation lump sum payment is “untaxed income” Although I do find it quite unfair since it isn’t per income to us per say but towards his treatments or future treatments.</p>
<p>It must be reported, and it will affect your EFC. You can request that the school do a special circumstances review. Some schools might take the lump sum out of the annual earnings and recalculate the EFC. It’s not a sure thing that they will, but you can certainly request the review. Given your parents’ low income, it would make a big difference for you in terms of aid, so I think it is definitely worth pursuing. They would remove it from income but leave it in assets (as it is, it is being counted as both) but with that income, the assets would probably not even come into play - so it would help you. Call the school and talk to a financial aid officer about your situation.</p>
<p>It’s replacement income for pay he would have received if he had continued working. Medical insurance would cover treatments and future treatments. He would be wise to talk to a financial planner to see how best to shelter money as much as legally possible in retirement accounts, it’s unfortunate that he wasn’t able to do that during the financial year FAFSA is considering.</p>
<p>Crossposted with Kelsmom but her advice is good.</p>
<p>Another question… Would my father be still considered as a dislocated worker this year? I did put him as one last year as he was laid off from employment and for the most part, would not return to his old profession as a chef because of the heavy lifting and long hours standing. </p>
<p>He has exhausted his unemployment benefits and currently trying to look for work. At this point, I think he’s willing to do anything to support his family.</p>
<p>It does sound like you may need to take a gap year. However, if the money is sitting in savings somewhere to go towards future medical expenses, then about $50k of it will be assessed next year at a rate of about 5.6%.</p>
<p>BleuCheese, it sounds to me like your dad is still a dislocated worker. If he is still unemployed, go ahead and update your FAFSA to dislocated worker.</p>
<p>Assets would be excluded. The comp payout is still going to count, though. I really encourage the OP to talk to the school about a professional judgment adjustment. I would have done it with proper documentation in a case like this. That doesn’t mean YOUR school will, but they very well may.</p>
<p>My dad has been unemployed for a few years so my mom has been working 2 jobs from home and has been getting A LOT of overtime and stuff, so our income was abnormally high last year. But this year, my mom is only working one job because 2 full-time jobs were too much to handle. My dad has a few jobs on the side, but he just injured his neck and can’t work. That means our income is going to be a lot less than it was last year. My EFC is 28214. What does that mean?</p>
<p>Classof12and16: It sounds like you need to contact the college financial aid office. If your mom expects a substantially lower income this year, they will probably be willing to review your application. It is possible (though not guaranteed) that they will adjust your EFC accordingly.</p>
<p>I’m currently a junior in a City University of New York school. Granted, tuition is cheap considering other schools but our family is struggling financially. I would be applying for my senior year. </p>
<p>I also noticed I made another mistake for the LONGEST TIME! Our family can add my grandparents as members of the household since my parents provide half of their support! My grandparents are immigrants and the only thing they have is food stamps and $200 to give to my parents each month for rent. I think my parents has provided well over 50% of their support. In the past, I didn’t include my grandparents on the other members of household because my parents didn’t claim them for tax exemptions. </p>
<p>Does it make any difference if I add 2 more people (grandparents) to other members of the household to effect EFC? </p>
<p>This is so aggravating! I have made two mistakes so far and my fafsa is still processing! I really want to get this fixed!</p>
<p>I don’t think that you can change the number of family members once submitted.</p>
<p>Hopefully Kelsmom will chime in. Including grandparents can be an iffy thing. They get foodstamps and they pay $200 a month. It may be hard for your parents to show that every month they spend $200 PLUS the value of two people’s food stamps on your grandparents.</p>
<p>your parents’ income is only $18k. I don’t know what the monthly value of food stamps is for 2 people, but I’m guessing it’s a few hundred per month. If so, then your parents might be hard-pressed to show that they are spending $400 per month directly on your grandparents. </p>
<p>It could be argued that your parents are benefiting from the $200 per month and the food stamps (which I know aren’t supposed to be shared, but when you’re in the same household, they likely would be).</p>
<p>Did your parents claim the $200 per month that they get from the grandparents on their FAFSA?</p>
<p>( I just looked it up…although it can vary by state…It looks like two people get about $266 per month for food stamps)</p>
<p>Your grandparents can either receive public assistance or they can be claimed as dependents of your parents, not both. In addition, I assume your grandparents participate in some kind of form of medicare (free health insurance). The value of that program is way more than what your parents are able to provide.</p>
<p>I advise to contact your school regarding workers compensation. The money your father received are not an asset that should be considered available for your tuition. These money should be earmarked to pay for your dad’s future medical expenses, because medical insurance will not be covering work-related injury.</p>
It seems to take forever after making a stupid mistake on fafsa.</p>