What, if anything, should I do about an incorrect amount of untaxed income reported on the PROFILE?
One school sent us a letter that the 2015 untaxed income on the FAFSA and PROFILE didn’t match. In reviewing what we did when we filled them out in early November, I found that we listed my husband and my contributions to a mandatory state retirement plan (for past 2015, present 2016 and future 2017) on the PROFILE but not on the FAFSA. They shouldn’t have been listed on the PROFILE.
I found this information since then: “If pre-tax payments to any type of retirement plan are voluntary, they should be reported on the PROFILE Application in PI-190. It does not matter if the plan results in exemption from FICA contributions. If participation in the retirement plan is mandatory and there is no discretion as to the contribution amount, nothing needs to be reported on the PROFILE Application. An explanation can be provided in Section ES.”
The amounts directed to the retirement plan are not reported on the W-2, although the different wage amounts are shown in different categories on the W-2.
So should I send a note and the corrected PROFILE pages to the schools? A nice woman on the phone at College Board gave me a tutorial on how to do it. But, will it matter this late in the game? It’s about $9,500 for each year’s total income.
Of the four schools who received the PROFILE, one contacted us and we returned their form explaining it, one has already given him a financial aid offer, two others he is still waiting on acceptance/financial aid by April 1st, so it could be a moot point with either or both of those.
P.S. Unfortunately, I didn’t discover College Confidential until a couple of weeks ago. I’ve learned so much that I will be putting into practice when I go through this whole process again in less than 2 years. Unfortunately, this has been a continuing story where my older son is the learning experience and my two years younger twin sons benefit from what I’ve learned in the initial process.