Do you add back the differed pre tax contribution that you contributed towards 401 retirement plans etc while calculating the school net price calculation? Thanks
Some NPCs ask that specific question. If not…and if it were me…yes, I would add back those as income.
ok thanks
Well…try it both ways and see what the difference is!
This very much depends on the school, and if/how they treat retirement savings deferrals. Some schools like to say they meet full need, but the fine print is that they consider this, or some of it, as available income. Some schools allow 5 or 6%, but don’t see the fairness in allowing 10-12%.
Kind of the same deal for home equity - some schools seem to expect families to be able/willing to re-finance and draw down on the home equity, or extend the mortgage term, to increase cash flow available for college.
Yes, it does vary. For us years ago, i think we had to add back the 401K deductions from income but did not need to include the 401K balance in savings.
For FAFSA purposes, it is what @colorado_mom states: what you contribute to your 401k/403b is added back in as income. You do not include your balance in 401k.
For CSS profile schools, what you pay in to your 401k is definitely added back as income. Different schools have different policies on how they treat the balances in your account
The net price calculator might ask about “untaxed income”.
@sybbie719, @colorado_mom, @mommdc yes we are adding that to our income, therefore probably will be looking for merit as well as need based aid colleges. Thanks a lot