<p>On the FAFSA it says "don't include business if you own more than 50 percent and it has less than 100 employees."</p>
<p>What if you own exactly 50 percent and the business has 2 employees? I'm guessing that means don't fill it out right? (Seems like they're trying to exclude tiny family "businesses" whose existence is just really a technicality... that's us).</p>
<p>You have to have a controlling interest to exclude. 50% is not a controlling interest, so you have to include it.</p>
<p>Shoot. I didn’t include it. Is this an important thing to fix? I don’t think it would make a big difference since the assets are minimal to noexistent, but…</p>
<p>I’ve already sent in business/tax returns with IDOC.</p>
<p>You need to go back and fix it now. That’s the purpose of IDOC - to make sure your tax return equal what you put on the FAFSA. Sending in a tax return without including the info on the FAFSA is a red flag.</p>
<p>IDOC goes wtih Profile. Is the info on your Profile accurately portrayed? Did you fill out the Business Supplement?</p>
<p>Yes, I did all of that. I also put business-related income in the FAFSA since that’s part of our adjusted gross income. How do you estimate net worth of a business? Does cash in a checking account count as an asset, or must it be cash that’s invested somehow in the business? There isn’t any land, buildings, equipment, or inventory. </p>
<p>Also, is the value I should put the value of the whole business or the value of the half we own? Since there doesn’t seem to be a place to mark what the percentage of ownership is. </p>
<p>I’ll try to fix it… do I just make corrections and resubmit it to all the colleges? It would be the third version (as the first was submitted before tax info was done), which is okay right? </p>
<p>I appreciate all your help a lot!</p>
<p>Bump, help please!</p>
<p>You should only put down the value of the half you own. If you were to sell your half, how much could you sell if for? Is it even something you could technically “sell”?</p>
<p>What sylvan said- for example, if your partner died and you had to buy out his wife, what would you pay? Or if you wanted to sell to a third party, what would you net?</p>
<p>I talked to the guidance counselor at my school and she told me that the business isn’t sellable (I can get more detailed in a PM if you like). If the partner died my mom would just continue by herself with no need to pay anything. My counselor said I could put the market value/net worth as zero, submit the business tax returns to every college, and let the financial aid offices judge for themselves if they disagree. Does that sound okay?</p>