<p>Hello, I am currently at a California Community College and I just got awarded the Pell Grant. I also have the BOG b award which pays 100% tuition and I get a 200$ book voucher each semester from EOPS. I do not have many other expenses except for a monthly bus pas which will cost me around 500$ a year. Could I save my Pell Grant for transferring university here in 2 years? I would like to TAG into UC Davis or possibly go to UCSD and it will cost me a pretty penny. If I am not allowed to use the money to save then I intend to use it on living expenses so I can live in my own apartment so there is less stress for me that occurs when I am at home. By the way my EFC is 0 if that makes any difference.</p>
<p>my safety is cashing out as soon as i get the money and putting it in an unrelated bank account. my guess is they can’t touch it once they distribute it out anyways though.</p>
<p>Yes, you can put the money into a savings account, and use it later if it turns out that you don’t need it this year.</p>
<p>Talk with the financial aid office, and find out whether or not you need to report any money that is left from that Pell that is still in your bank when it comes time to file the FAFSA. It is my understanding that left-over financial aid money is not included when you file the FAFSA, but I may be confused.</p>
<p>If you put excess Pell Grants into savings or use them on living expenses, you would report them as taxable scholarships on your tax returns of this year.</p>
<p>See <a href=“Publication 970 (2022), Tax Benefits for Education | Internal Revenue Service”>Publication 970 (2022), Tax Benefits for Education | Internal Revenue Service;
<p>Then you would report the taxable scholarships on your FAFSA of next year, such that the taxable scholarships do not impact your next year’s EFC.</p>
<p>See <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1440665-fafsa-taxable-scholarships-go-under-agi.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1440665-fafsa-taxable-scholarships-go-under-agi.html</a></p>
<p>Also, since
you may
</p>
<p>See <a href=“http://www2.palomar.edu/pages/fa/files/2013/04/2013_DeclineReturnPell.pdf[/url]”>http://www2.palomar.edu/pages/fa/files/2013/04/2013_DeclineReturnPell.pdf</a></p>
<p>Is the Pell Grant taxable? I though that it wasn’t.</p>
<p>Do check that out!</p>
<p>The Pell Grant is taxable just like any other grants/scholarships to the extent they exceed the cost of tuition, mandatory fees and required books and supplies. If the total income, including work, taxable scholarships/grants, interest etc., of a student who can be claimed as a dependent on their parents’ return is less than $6100, the student wouldn’t have to file a return/owe any federal tax.</p>
<p>There is a question on fafsa asking the amount of grants/scholarships that was reported to the IRS. That amount is subtracted from income in the fafsa formula. Also, any amount in a savings account that is attributable to prior financial aid doesn’t have to be included in student assets.</p>
<p>So what does that mean for me? Will I no longer get as much financial aid if I save this?</p>
<p>If you keep your PELL and other financial aid in an account that does not dip below that award, you don’t have to report those balances as assets, is my understanding. The instant you dip below the award amount, that amount is gone in terms of non reporting. You can’t just replace the money. This is important because in the future, EFC could go up 20cents for each dollar you, the student have saved. </p>
<p>"So what does that mean for me? Will I no longer get as much financial aid if I save this? "</p>
<p>The answer is that you won’t get penalized for the amount being stashed in savings. But if you use up all of the years of your eligiblity, you aren’t going to get PELL for beyond the 6 year of use. Whereas, if you return it all, that year is returned to you. But if you save the money, you’ll have it anyways, so that’s a wash. You could end up with extra money in a year, if you save it and are still quaified for PELL because you would have what you have saved PLUS what you get that year.</p>
<p>Alright, I am still so confused. I am scared to go to the financial aid office and them telling me it is illegal or something and then losing my money for the next year. The way I am reading it is I can just throw it in an account and whatever I don’t spend they wont know about and I wont be affected?</p>
<p>It is NOT illegal.</p>
<p>Lots of students find out that they spend less money than they had expected, and they manage to save some of their aid money (either Pell money or from a loan) for expenses in future college terms.</p>
<p>It really truly is OK to discuss this with the financial aid office.</p>
<p>I am a financial aid director. I can assure you that you can and should talk to your school’s financial aid office. They are there to help you and to answer any questions you have.</p>