I’m helping my daughter fill out her 2019-20 FAFSA and I’m not clear whether a church scholarship grant she received must be reported under question 45j. I know we must report the grandparent-owned 529 plan distribution she received, but I’d love some advice on the necessity of reporting the church grant. Thanks in advance!
When did she receive the church scholarship grant and the distribution from the grandparent-owned 529 plan? Only amounts received in 2017 are reported as income on the 2019-2020 FAFSA.
And, student financial aid that’s not taxable is not reported on FAFSA at any time. If the church scholarship grant ends up being taxable, it would be reported on FAFSA question 44.d. for the applicable year.
If the scholarship was taxable and was reported on the 2017 tax return as part of AGI then you report that amount on the FAFSA, it will then subtract it from student income for purposes of EFC calculation.
But you can reduce a scholarship by qualified education expenses (tuition, fees, books) to determine if it is taxable. Unless it is specifically to be used for room and board, in which case it would be taxable.
Thanks to you both! I’m pretty sure the church grant was used entirely to pay for tuition, so it won’t be taxable (and, yes, it was a 2017 grant). Very helpful, and I appreciate the info.