<p>Hi my situation is quite a complicated one. I study in Florida State University, specifically in the Panama City branch located in Panama (Latin America). I am going to transfer in Spring 2011 to the main campus in Tallahassee. Now, me and my parents are legal alien residents in the US, and we dont have a tax form for the year 2009, yet my FAFSA was selected for verification and the university wants the 2009 tax return of my parents. My parents filed a tax return in Panama, so I understand I must file a foreign tax return, which I did. Now my question is: do I send the tax returns from my native country? If so, do I need to translate it (The document is in Spanish). Also if the information provided on FAFSA does no match 100% the information on our tax forms ( they were estimates!) what penalty will we incur? Let´s say the earnings that appear in my FAFSa are a little lower than the one that appears in the tax forms. Will we be held legally accountable of that blunder or will they just change the award amount of our financial aid? Also, if I make corrections to my FAFSA how long will my university be aware of these changes?</p>
<p>I know these are many questions and I really appreciate in advance all the help you will give me.</p>
<p>Why did they not file a US tax return? Green card holders are required to file a US tax return if they earn over a certain amount. If they are required to file a US return and do not, you will not be able to receive aid.</p>
<p>First thanks for answering so fast. Unfortunately we arrived to the US around august, so we had no income earned in the US for 2009, absolutely no income in the US, just in Panama.</p>
<p>The income does not have to be earned in the US for you to be required to file a US return. A green card holder is treated the same as a US citizen for tax purposes and has to report worldwide income. (it doesn’t necessarily mean taxes will be owed as some credits may be allowed for taxes paid overseas). I’m not sure if it makes a difference that you got the green card late in the year.</p>
<p>Oh, do you mean you just got a green card this year? In that case then you would convert your panamanian income to US $. If you understated your income on FAFSA the school will have to adjust your aid to reflect that.</p>
<p>Yes we got our resident VISA in August and immediately flew to the US to get our green cards. So there is no way that our 2009 tax return form exists. So if I understated our income will we incur a legal penalty or prosecution? Also I was selected for verification, does it mean that the process is already out of FAFSA jurisdiction and I have to deal directly with the Financial aid office of my school? Also do I need to translate the documents I send/fax them?</p>
<p>You will be verified by the school whether or not you change your FAFSA. Once they select you for verification you must submit your documents to them as requested. The best thing to do is to ask them what they want you to provide as far as translations etc. they will probably want to know the exchange rates you used to convert to US$ (I think it would have to be the exchange rate on the date you filed).</p>
<p>As long as you were not trying to commit fraud by providing completely false information you should be ok. Estimated numbers on FAFSA always have to be corrected to reflect the final accurate numbers. Your school will probably make corrections to your FAFSA whick will change your FA. At least 30% of all FAFSAs have to be verified so you will probably go through this every year. (out of 10 FAFSAs we have filed, we have been verified 7 or 8 times).</p>
<p>Thanks for your fast replies. Panama currency is the same as US ( we use dollars here) so we dont need to convert currencies. So my school will change MY FAFSA once they receive my documents? (Correcting my FAFSA without me doing anything right?) Thanks in advance</p>
<p>Thanks again. So my EFC may change when I submit my tax return forms to the Financial aid office of my school right? If so, what awards get changed first, the loans or the grants?</p>
<p>Grants. The main Federal grants, the Pell grant, is based exactly on your EFC. The maximum Pell for a year (this year) is $5550 for a 0 EFC. As the EFC goes up the pell goes down almost inversely until at an EFC of around 5200 there is no Pell eligibility. </p>
<p>If your grant aid is reduced your loan aid may increase but the maximum Stafford loan (the main federal student loan) is $5500 for a dependent freshman.</p>