<p>I live with my mom, but my dad is the one that claims me in the income tax. Now I don't live with him at all and he doesn't provide any household support apart from the child support. Also my mom doesn't work.</p>
<p>Now how would this work out?</p>
<p>This is really confusing. My school counselor told me to put zero</p>
<p>If the schools are FAFSA only (mostly state schools) they will only look at your mom’s income and assets. At private colleges that use Profile, they’ll look at both parents and any new spouse’s income and assets.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter who claims you on income taxes, it’s who you live with that counts for FAFSA.</p>
<p>So then I would put zero since my mom doesn’t work</p>
<p>Sounds right. Don’t be shy about emailing the FAFSA people with your questions. They get questions all the time and they are fast about responding. That way you get the absolute correct information – and, don’t worry, it won’t change your EFC just because you ask lots of questions. </p>
<p>I also like the book “How to pay for college without going broke” by Chany. Lots of good information there.</p>
<p>Put zero for what? They will of course want to know what your family lives on. Everything from child and spousal support to investment income to unemployment must be reported.</p>
<p>*So then I would put zero since my mom doesn’t work *</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>NO…you would need to put in your child support at least… </p>
<p>What does your mom live on? Is she married? If so, then her H’s husband counts.</p>
<p>If your mom isn’t married, how does she pay rent and buy food? </p>
<p>If you put 0, it probably isn’t going to be believable.</p>
<p>If your mom gets Social Security, that also would be included as income.
If she is remarried, your stepdad’s income is included.</p>
<p>If you are applying to schools that require the CSS/PROFILE for financial aid, your dad’s income WILL count, as well as his spouse’s, if he has remarried. If your mom owns the house you live in, the amount of equity she has in the house (home value minus mortgage) is an asset that the college can expect your family to tap.</p>
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<p>Only the taxable portion of SS benefits are reported on FAFSA.</p>
<p>Child support is reported as untaxed income. Alimony is also reported somewhere. Here’s a link to the FAFSA instructions:
[Completing</a> the FAFSA: Financial Aid from the U.S. Department of Education](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/completing_fafsa/index.html]Completing”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/completing_fafsa/index.html)</p>
<p>Do not take FAFSA advice from your guidance counselor as it’s probably not an area they get involved in regularly (unless he/she also has college aged kids)! Read the instructions for yourself or have your mom read them. If you get stuck, post questions here.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, not all schools that use the CSS profile require a non-custodial parent profile. Each school will list what it requires, but it doesn’t hurt to call the school and ask a financial aid officer to double-check.
Some schools have additional forms just for the school.</p>
<p>Did your mom file a tax return last year? If not, and if your mom’s only income is social security and/or federal benefits, you can put 0 on the FAFSA. If she receives child support, that goes in untaxed income, as does alimony if mom was not required to file a tax return (otherwise, alimony is part of the adjusted gross income on the tax return, but not reported as income earned from work - same for the taxable portion of social security). If your mom received unemployment benefits but was not required to file, they also go under untaxed income (as does the first-$2400-of-unemployment exclusion amount). </p>
<p>If you are selected for verification, your mom will have to complete a parent non tax filer form for the school, and she will report things like untaxed social security or federal benefits there (so the school has documentation of how the family survived with no income).</p>
<p>My financial aid situation is similar… sort of. On the CSS when my parents filed, I filed with my mom (the ONLY biological parent I live with) for the normal part of the form (I have a stepdad, so he went on here too, because I live in his house). Your dad will have to fill out noncustodial parent supplements. It will work the same way on the CSS and the FAFSA, your mom will file everything for you, and as long as your dad is alive, he will file noncustodial forms. If he refuses to fill these out, I would call the financial aid office and explain your situation, or write a letter explaining what is going on. </p>
<p>How that will all work out depends on the college itself. The college I applied to ED only looks at my BIOLOGICAL parents, so my mom and dad’s income - which like your situation, is also only my dad’s income. Good luck and I hope this helps!</p>
<p>What css school only looks at bio parents</p>
<p>^Many Profile schools to not require NCP info…you can view the list here:</p>
<p><a href=“https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/PXRemotePartInstitutionServlet/PXRemotePartInstitutionServlet.srv[/url]”>https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/PXRemotePartInstitutionServlet/PXRemotePartInstitutionServlet.srv</a></p>
<p>sk8trmom…I know that. 
I know that most CSS schools only look at custodial parent and any new spouse’s income.</p>
<p>My question was…WHICH CSS schools only look at BIO parents’ income???</p>
<p>That means only looks at the incomes of the divorced bio parents (and not either of the new spouses).</p>
<p>Wellesley College only looks at bio parents. I know that sounds weird, but that is what they claimed in their open house - it is their child, so it is their responsibility to pay for their daughter’s education.</p>
<p>Thanks…I was wondering. I had never heard of a school only looking at BIO parents and not even the spouse of the custodial parent.</p>
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<p>i find this very hard to believee. Unless you received this information from the **Director of Financial Aid ** in writing. I would not take their word for it.</p>
<p>I am willing to be money is that the statement they made is that the student’s parents are first in line when it comes to paying for their daughter’s education. Parents in this sense would mean parents (custodial/noncustodial/stepparents). Wellesley would look at your stepdads information to the extent which your mom is ‘benefitting’ from the marriage. She benefits because she is no the only person that pays to keep your household a float.</p>
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<p>Not quite.</p>
<p>For FAFSA, the custodial parent (and spouse if there is one) are reported. The non-custodial parent info is NEVER included on the FAFSA…NEVER.</p>
<p>For Profile, EVERYONE gets to include their information. Custodial parent (the one you live with) and spouse (if there is one) put their info on the Profile. The non-custodial parent (and spouse if there is one) put their info on the non-custodial parent Profile form.</p>
<p>Re: Which schools do/do not require the non-custodial parent form? Look on the school websites. They will clearly tell you IF they require the non-custodial parent Profile and when it’s DUE.</p>
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<p>What do you mean? Either the Profile school looks at both parents (and spouses or they look only at the custodial parent and spouse (they don’t require the non-custodial parent form). </p>
<p>If the schools require the Profile, they will require the info from ALL the spouses (either on the regular profile for the custodial parent or on the non-custodial parent profile if required).</p>
<p>FAFSA REQUIRES info from custodial parent AND spouse if there is one. No exceptions.</p>
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<p>I don’t think any such schools exist. There is a poster here who says that Wellesley told her they didn’t consider step parents in the equation but there is nothing to support this on their website. Wellesley requires the Profile (custodial and noncustodial forms) so EVERYONE’s info is included.</p>
<p>I don’t know of any school that excludes stepparents IF they require the forms that include them (Profile, FAFSA for custodial parent only).</p>