What counts as income?

Paying for College
1

<p>Okay long story short -- I am required to have health insurance to attend school next fall, I turned 18 in November and am currently enrolled in Medicaid (Mom is on SSI, EFC = 0). Florida has chosen not to expand Medicaid under the ACA, so I no longer qualify. The problem is that I also don't qualify for a subsidy to help pay for coverage. My school, FSU, offers a coverage plan for ~$1600/year. The thing is, if I can get my Modified AGI up to 100% of the federal poverty level I will basically get free/low cost care. I plan on working over the summer as much as possible, and until May, I get my dad's SSD. That total will be 2810. My question is can I purposely use my Pell and other scholarship awards to pay for room/board/living expenses so it isn't deductible, and pay for tuition using savings and loans? If I can do that, and can come close to $12000 "income" what other ways could I get to that level? Does work around the house for my brother count? What about if my mom gives me money every month? I appreciate the advice!</p>

2

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It’s possible. But some scholarships only cover tuition.</p>

3

<p>You need to look at the tax regs/ACA regs to see if the FPL is comprised of just earned income, all sources of income, or something else. If it is EARNED income, then taxable amounts of room and board will not count, nor will interest, capital gains, etc. Earned income has a definition.</p>

<p>You are adding in money you haven’t earned yet (work study). It’s not going to help you. </p>

<p>Can you get a job and EARN $11,490 by August? That’s a lot. Ask FSU if they will increase your package by $1600 to cover your insurance.</p>

4

<p>Just to be clear, the IRS considers taxable scholarships/grants to be earned income for the purpose of the standard deduction.</p>

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<p>IRS Pub 501, page 24. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf[/url]”>http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Taxable amounts of scholarships/grants are entered on line 7 of the 1040 along with wages, salaries, tips and thus are part of AGI.</p>

<p>That doesn’t mean those amounts are included for the ACA. I’ve done a little googling on the ACA, so I’m not claiming that the following is something to base a decision on. Scholarships/grants are part of AGI. The ACA appears to be based on MAGI. I’ve found a couple sources that list things added to or subtracted from AGI to get MAGI. Taxable scholarships/grants are not among the things I’ve seen.</p>

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<p>No, you do not count grants or student loans.</p>