<p>I have an "off the books" job- i work regularly, though only about 10 hours a week, and i get paid in cash, dont file taxes on that income, etc. I put this down under "employment" on my college applications. Now i'm filling out the FAFSA form and I dont know whether I should list this as employment...will I get in trouble for not having filed taxes or anything? But if i didnt put it down, the colleges might doubt my credibility? Any advice?</p>
<p>Check the IRS reporting requirements-- but you may not have to file at all if your income is very small. If you're supposed to file, I would file-- you probably don't have any tax liability anyway on a small amount of income.</p>
<p>Best to have the FAFSA match your college application, I'd think, although I believe the two don't get cross matched. Your income protection allowance is only about $2,600 -- anything above that will be assessed at 50% in computing your EFC, so it will reduce your financial aid offer. Keep in mind, to, that there's no asset protection allowance for Students-- and you'll be assessed at 35% of your liquid assets (savings accounts, checking account, etc).</p>
<p>if i have a few thousand in cash savings at home that ive earned over the years....will i have to use 35% of that each year ....or is that only for bank savings account</p>
<p>When you fill out the FAFSA, you'll be asked to list your assets, including cash, savings, checking, stocks, etc. So cash on hand should be included. </p>
<p>You don't HAVE to spend 35% of your assets on college each year-- it's your money, do with it what you want. But the way the FAFSA formula works, it considers 35% of your assets available for college each year, thereby reducing your potential aid by that amount.</p>
<p>So-- if you have any significant expenditures pending, best to make them before filling out the FAFSA, so as to reduce your assets (the items you purchase aren't counted as assets for this purpose). </p>
<p>Parent's assets aren't assessed nearly as severely, and parents get an asset protection allowance so their assets may not be assessed at all. So assets in parent's name are better than in student's name, from a financial aid point of view.</p>