My parents are going through divorce right now, and on the FAFSA, I filled in “divorced or separated” as of today. On the following pages, I filled in “married-filed joint return” for 2015 because in 2015, my parents were still legally married. How do I fill out the income, tax, etc. for 2015 because it says “What was your mother’s adjusted gross income for 2015? This amount is found on IRS Form 1040-line 37.” Thanks.
When you say divorced or separated as of today, is that accurate? Doubtful they separated today so you want to make sure to provide accurate information. You are using your parents 2015 tax return so the answer will be whatever is on the IRS form 1040 line 37 for their 2015 tax return.
They filed for divorce a few months ago, so is that considered separated or married?
@paveyourpath I believe you are not correct.
If the parents are separated as of the day of filing the 2017-2018 FAFSA, this student would put only the income his custodial parent earned in 2015. He would probably need to see his custodial parent 2015 w-2 forms to get that number. He would not include the income from his non-custodial parent on this form.
@kelsmom I believe I am correct…
@BelknapPoint …right?
Yes, that’s right. If the parents really are separated (not living together) in anticipation of a divorce, only the custodial parent’s financial information is reported on FAFSA.
OK. Got it. Thanks.
Thank you @thumper1 and @BelknapPoint for clarifying! @coolkid69 It seems whether your parents are living together is going to be the determination.
Are your parents living at different addresses? Or are they both still living in your home right now?