<p>I have a work study job at school so every year they send tax return forms to my home. For 2012 I made a little over $3,000 solely from work study. Would it be worth it if my mom included my returns with hers when she does her taxes? And if I actually got a refund would that lower the amount of money I receive for financial aid?</p>
<p>No. It is your income, not your Mom’s. She should not include it in her tax return. If anyone needs to file a return, it will be you. But $3,000 is below the $5950 standard deduction for a single person. Earned income below this amount will not incur taxes. If tax was deducted, you should file a tax return to get the tax overpayment refunded. If not, and this was your only income, you are probably not required to file a tax return. </p>
<p>Getting a refund will not affect your FA.</p>
<p>It will not affect your financial aid. First, a dependent student has a certain amount of income protection. Currently it is around $6,000. Second, WS does not impact your EFC at all. If you do a tax return the WS income will be included in your AGI which you report on FAFSA. There is another question on FAFSA that asks how much of the AGI was from WS. This is deducted from the AGI in the EFC formula.</p>
<p>Oops I’m sorry. I meant that she would have my taxes done in addition to hers, not that she would include my income on her own taxes.
But thank you for the response!</p>
<p>Oh, ok. People do sometimes think they should file their kids income on their taxes. The IRS web site has links to online freefile programs. As your return should be pretty simple, that is probably a good way to go if you need to file to get a refund.</p>