Need to Lower EFC from 2126 to 2100

Paying for College
1

<p>Next year I will have two dd's in public universities. My fafsa was submitted (with estimates), and corrections from my 2010 1040 have been made. My initial EFC was 1900. With my tax return in hand, my EFC went up to 2126.</p>

<p>With an EFC of 2100 or lower, one daughter would receive an additional $2000 grant through the State Lottery. Quite a substantial amount for my budget!</p>

<p>Does anyone have any suggestions for me as I check and double-check ways/numbers in which I could legally lower my EFC to 2100 or below?</p>

<p>Please understand my intent is not to lie, but to ensure that I'm not overlooking a deduction/line item that would lower my EFC this small amount.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any help or advice.</p>

2

<p>The only fields you can change on your FAFSA at this point are fields that are reflected on your tax return. If your tax return is accurate, I’m not sure there is anything you can do to change your EFC at this point.</p>

3

<p>Did you itemize deductions on your tax return? Maybe you can give up a deduction and pay a little more in taxes. (taxes are deducted from your income when your EFC is calculated so a higher tax bill might actually benefit you).</p>

4

<p>Also remember you will have to file an amended tax return if you do change anything on it. Swimcatsmom…is there any way for this poster to figure out how much they would have to reduce their deductions to get to the EFC they need?</p>

5

<p>She would probably have to print off the formula and work through it. The % of income that goes to the EFC varies according to income levels.</p>

6

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<p>Next year I will have two dd’s in public universities. My fafsa was submitted (with estimates), and corrections from my 2010 1040 have been made. My initial EFC was 1900. With my tax return in hand, my EFC went up to 2126.
*</p>

<p>Are you doing FAFSA twice? Once for each child and indicating that there are 2 in college?</p>

<p>do your girls have any savings?</p>

7

<p>^^^the assets/savings are something that is not supposed to be changed, so even if there are savings it is too late to do anything like spend those.</p>

8

<p>Make sure you correctly report income from work, as this can affect the EFC if not properly reported. If you have any income on line 12, this is added to the income on line 7 (if 12 is negative, it is treated as 0). Also, if you have education tax credits (line 49), don’t forget to report those as they reduce the EFC.</p>

9

<p>Would they still be able to contribute to an IRA and lower their income that way?</p>

10

<p>^^
No, IRA contributions are added back to income in the FAFSA formula.</p>