specific Fafsa issue - question 47j and tuition paid by parents

Paying for College
1

I’ll give all the details;
I am a 24 year old student, transferring from a cheap MD CC which I could easily afford to one of the Maryland state schools, where I will be an out of state student, at least my first year. I am filling out my FAFSA as an independent student, and ran into question 47j: money received or bills paid on your behalf.

I am very lucky, as I rent a room at a family friends house for incredibly cheap; 250$, all utilities included, where I only stayed 8 months last year, and they don’t bill me for the breaks, as they use the room for other things while I stay with my parents. All told, my 2016 total expenses, except 1 big one, were about 5k or so, maximum 6k, which I split between my savings and some help from parents, as I was in school full time that year.

The big question are my 2016 tuition expenses, which my parents paid for. Those came over 10k, as I took some summer classes somewhere more expensive. I called FAFSA and was told I did not have to include them, though previously I had been given the impression I did need to add them. If I add them, I will have around 15k included under question 47j.

If it will not affect my EFC much, I will probably just add them to be safe; otherwise, since I was told I didn’t need to include them, I probably will not. Any advice anyone?

2

I think the instructions for 45.j. (not 47.j., right?) are pretty clear, and you need to include the payments made by your parents that you describe.

3

But wouldn’t he have been a dependent in the 2016 tax year? Does he have to report those?

4

^^^
My reasoning is based on the fact that it must be fairly common for a newly independent FAFSA filer to have received money or there was money paid on the student’s behalf two years ago when the student was dependent, and yet there is no exception in the FAFSA instructions for excluding this money.