I have a small amount of income as a CC student, but I’ve never filed taxes. I worked a temporary part-time job in the summer, do freelance work, and I work at my college (though we are paid in “scholarships”). I’m planning on transferring what I have in checking/savings to my parents before filling out the form, but I’m not sure how I should report my income as a student, if at all. Edit: Also, I did put these items on ECs, so it might look suspicious for me to report no income at all.
The earnings from your summer job and freelance work should be reported as student income. More information about the work you do at your college and the payment arrangements is needed.
Is the money untaxed or did you just not file a tax return to get back the money you have already paid in taxes? Even a part-time job is likely to be withholding taxes from your paychecks. Go get a pay stub from your job and we can give you better advice.
@thumper1 Absolutely not. I’ve just read that student assets are weighed much more heavily than parent assets, so having the money out of my name would slightly bring down my EFC
Even if you put you money in your parent account…it is still YOUR money and needs to be reported as YOUR asset…unless you are giving the money to your parents with no strings attached.
Looking- does the college you are applying to promise to meet need? If it does not (and most do not) you don’t need to worry about who owns the money since it won’t net you any more in aid. And giving your parents the money to park it with them to qualify for more aid is called fraud-- so not a good idea.
But back to the question- how much did you earn? You may be focused on the wrong things here. The IRS may owe YOU money if your job withheld taxes. The only way to get that money from the government and into YOUR hands is to file. Grab your last paystub from your job and we can help you.
Is the second quote in direct response to the first quote? If so, this would be fraud, and would therefore be illegal.
Reportable assets that are owned by you must be reported, no matter where they are. Putting your money in a parent account does not mean that you no longer need to report it. It still belongs to you, unless you have made a legitimate gift with no strings attached.
Here is the statement that you must sign when you submit FAFSA. Pay close attention to the language in bold:
If you are the parent or the student, by signing this application you certify that all of the information
you provided is true and complete to the best of your knowledge and you agree, if asked, to
provide information that will verify the accuracy of your completed form. This information may
include U.S. or state income tax forms that you filed or are required to file. Also, you certify that
you understand that the Secretary of Education has the authority to verify information
reported on this application with the Internal Revenue Service and other federal agencies. If
you electronically sign any document related to the federal student aid programs using an FSA ID
(username and password) and/or any other credential, you certify that you are the person identified
by that username and password and/or other credential, and have not disclosed that username
and password and/or other credential to anyone else. If you purposely give false or misleading
information, you may be fined up to $20,000, sent to prison, or both.
Regardless of where you park this money…it’s YOUR money unless you totally give it away…or spend it.
You are talking a very small amount for 2017…how much is in your account now? $5000 max? So you would need to contribute $1000 toward your college costs? Is that a problem?
If so, the best thing to do is actually pay some of that bill out of YOUR savings before you file the FAFSA form.
Or, I suppose you could start a 529 account. Those are assessed at the parent rate for FAFSA purposes.
@BelknapPoint@blossom@thumper1 Ok then, definitely forget that idea. I read that as a tip in a few places, youtube videos, etc. I’m just starting on this confusing journey. Thanks for your help.
I think you are confusing terms. Untaxed money doesn’t mean money you earn from a job that you’ve elected not to have taxes prepaid (taken out of your check). That money, earned from employment, is certainly taxed, you just haven’t paid it yet. It will show up on a W2 if you had an employer (McDonald’s), or on a 1099 if you were a contractor (maybe your teaching through the university?) or you need to keep track of it if you were self employed (freelancing). You may not owe taxes on that income if it is under the standard deduction, but that doesn’t mean it was untaxed income. It’s taxable, but you just don’t owe any taxes.
Don’t put it on the FAFSA in two places. It’s EARNED income.
The FAFSA you would be filing now is for income earned in 2017. Don’t put any 2018 income on the form. Some of that income might now be an asset (savings) and you’d report it as that, an asset.
@twoinanddone Thanks for that explanation, and yes I think that is the case here, at least for 2018.
If the form is only looking at 2017, however, I didn’t have any reportable income that year. Are you sure 2018 isn’t asked on an application for Fall 2019?