WRT broadening your search to less competitive schools ( your obvious instate option being in that mix) what is the UK school going to do to her GPA?
Also a 33 ACT is not top 1% now, so just submit the SAT for any apps that don’t need all scores.
You said on another thread that your husband earned $4000 plus in 2017 in the UK. Is that amount included in your income for financial aid purposes? Or are you no longer married. If you are married, those UK earnings from 2017 MUST be included on the FAFSA and Profile forms.
And what is your foreign income exclusion doing in this math?
Right…when you do your taxes, you get a foreign income exclusion. Is the income you are reporting here BEFORE or after that exclusion?
This could make a difference at Profile Schools.
Also, if your pension is less than a larger amount…your need based aid will be less. Meaning…is your pension a portion of $64,000 or so…or is your pension a portion of a larger income amount.
those earnings are actually from rental and Airbnb income derived on the property and were included in our Schedule E. With respect to income here, as far as I can tell, in that he earns UK minimum wage and will have worked from Jan - mid July, I’m thinking it’s excluded; thusly it’s not part of the $64K. There is no other UK income to report. I’ll need to work with our tax advisor on all of that. My pension, the primary source of our income, is about $1850/mo. I’ll be returning to school in the fall to pursue an AAS in Massage Therapy, so I probably won’t be working. We might run the Airbnb in September and October (it’s a seasonal operation). Once we settle back in and deal with some urgent property matters, my husband may look for part-time work, but most likely not until the end of the year or the start of 2019.
my pension is included in the calculated $64K
Have you been taking Oregon’s property tax exemptions for your farmland? I don’t think changing the schedule you file with the IRS will change the property classification on your county tax rolls, especially if you’ve been taking the exemptions. People in our state who own land that’s been classified as farmland or forestland get a huge tax break on those acres, so changing the schedule wouldn’t help them because they’d lose an enormous amount of money. I’d check carefully before making changes on the off chance it will increase your financial aid. If you reclassify the property, you may have difficulty changing it back after the children graduate.
What makes you think your husband’s earnings are excluded from the financial aid forms. It doesn’t matter where the money was earned…or how much. It MUST be reported on the financial aid forms.
They are NOT excluded…and MUST be reported. No income is excluded on these financial aid forms except untaxed disability income.
Not sure why you think $4000 or so in income would be excluded. It’s NOT excluded.
Adding…your tax advisor likely has NO good working knowledge of what financial aid application forms require. This can differ from what college financial aid forms require.
- If you are filing taxes married filing jointly, and there is no income for your husband, he will need to complete a non-filers statement.
- If you are filing married filing separately, the school will still want that non-filers statement.
Even with that…your husband’s income will need to be listed on the financial aid forms even IF it’s not required by the IRS or any other taxing agency. It’s income, and all income is required on the FAFSA and Profile. No exceptions.
I should clarify. In 2017 he would have worked about 2 months in the UK. When I did the draft FreeTaxUSA form, I didn’t include it, so it isn’t reflected in the estimated AGI of $64K. If it ends up being included under foreign income earned, it would add a few thousand dollars to the 2017 AGI, but this may be offset by some other deductions that we’ve not yet taken.
However, for 2019, what I’m wondering is whether we qualify for this:
https://m.taxesforexpats.com/expat-tax-advice/foreign-income-exclusion.html
I don’t think so. If husband’s name and SSN is on a joint return, he did in fact file, regardless of his income. Someone who filed a tax return would not complete a non-filer’s statement.
Edited to add: FAFSA instructions specifically say not to report under parent’s untaxed income “foreign income exclusion.”
I’ll have to do some research and get tax advice on his earnings. He’s got dual citizenship and in order for us to legal stay in the UK, he either has to be self-employed or working. I’ve got a spreadsheet made up for his earnings and as I’ll be meeting with a tax advisor in late August, they can tell me what to do with this information. As his earnings are less than a specific amount in the UK, he’s not taxed here.
We have consistently filed together. In past year’s he has had an outside job. For the past few years he hasn’t, but has derived income from a rental on the property and the Airbnbs, all which is declared on a Schedule E.
As thumper1 has already pointed out, filing a tax return and completing financial aid forms require different skill sets. I would say it’s a rule rather than the exception that most tax specialists are not up to speed on the rules for properly completing a FAFSA or Profile, so be careful with who you ask for and receive financial aid advice from.
Oops right. If you filed taxes jointly he has filed.
Even if his income is not included on your tax form, you will still need to report it for financial aid purposes.
Oops right. If you filed taxes jointly he has filed.
Even if his income is not included on your tax form, you will still need to report it for financial aid purposes.
It doesn’t matter if the income is taxable…it is income and must be reported for financial aid purposes.