I live in a low-income household (less than 60k), so I really need need-based aid for college, but my mom lies on her taxes, so I cannot file the FAFSA without committing fraud. Could anyone give me some advice?
You are not responsible for your mother’s fraud if she is the one committing it, I.e. filing taxes and fafsa forms. But if you are taking aid based on fraudulent numbers, ie taking more than is otherwise due to you, you are an accessory. I think most kids would look the other way. But if she or you are caught, it is serious matter.
We had a good friend in a similar bind, and she worked through community college and then a lore priced school she could pay out of pocket for. Her ultimate goal had strict licensing requirements and she wasn’t taking the risk. (she is in medical school now)
Don’t lie. Colleges frown on dishonesty. And as noted, getting financial aid when you knowingly provide dishonest/inaccurate information is considered fraud.
Really…your mom needs to amend her taxes to reflect an honest filing. But that’s a whole other thread.
Without the FAFSA, you won’t get a nickel of need based aid.
If you have to self fund college, you will need to work and pay as you go, starting perhaps at a local college where tuition is affordable, and you can continue to live with your mom.
Have you discussed this with her? How do you know her taxes are not correct?
when you file fafsa, you will report everything that you file. they can even auto match by SS#. so whatever your mom is filing is what you report. you need to do this or you will not be eligible for any $$.
and what do you mean by lie?
If the info on the tax return is not honestly reported, and the student gets caught, this is considered fraud. Look that up. It’s a crime.
This family needs to understand that honesty in this process is important and that starts with an honestly filed tax return.
I agree…what makes this poster know that the parent is filing a dishonest tax return?
My mom files as HOH, but she has been married and living with my stepdad for three years. Also, I already have 50 college credits from dual enrollment classes.
it is not necessarily wrong if any of the below are true:
To qualify for the Head of Household filing status while married , you must: File your taxes separately from your spouse. Pay more than half of the household expenses. Not have lived with your spouse for the last 6 months of the year.
Yes, but OP has written that “My mom files as HOH, but she has been married and living with my stepdad for three years.”
Is she living with him full time? paying most of the expenses? There could be a reason for the way she is filing? she obviously does not make that much money. OP needs to find out.
We don’t have the nitty gritty details, but if this mom is married and is living with her spouse, she has two choices of how to file taxes…married filing separately and married filing jointly.
@BelknapPoint is there any provision for HOH for a married couple who are living together?
The OP needs to be certain that this is an accurate tax filing. If the FAFSA indicates “married” as the status, and the tax filing is HOH, this will very very likely trigger verification…and the family will need to provide documentation that proves that HOH is a viable filing status. And if it’s NOT, the family will need to reconcile their tax return with the marital status…or no aid will be given.
OP was pretty clear that their mom lies on her taxes. I assume they know what they’re talking about.
OP, if your mom isn’t going to be able to provide accurate information for financial aid forms you’re going to have to pay out of pocket for college. Is she planning to help you pay? If not, it might not matter to her. But if she’s going to help she may want to consider the aid she’s giving up by lying on federal forms. Don’t make the mistake of committing fraud yourself. The consequences aren’t worth it.
1 Like
Only two that I can think of:
-
The spouses lived apart from each other for the last six months of the tax year (temporary absences for special circumstances, such as for business, medical care, school, or military service, count as time lived in the home).
-
The taxpayer filing as HOH is married to a nonresident alien at any time during the year and the alien spouse elects to be treated as a resident alien.
To the OP of this thread. Are you sure your mom filed as HOH after she married and your step dad moved in?
I will say, regardless of her tax filings, the income and assets of your step dad need to be included on your FAFSA form. That is required. Because they are married on the day you filed your FAFSA.
So…if you are doing a 2021-2022 FAFSA, you need to include both mom and dad incomes from 2019 on your FAFSA form and any assets as of the day of filing.
You won’t be able to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool if mom and step dad don’t file a joint return…so they will need to order tax transcripts from 2019. If there is something not proper on those…believe me, the financial aid department will speak up.
A post was split to a new topic: FAFSA Deadline Accurate?
My mom has already admitted it to me. Also, she will not be able to pay for college. She is actually getting mad at me for not filing the FAFSA due to the incorrect filing status.
You may need to go merit hunting, although large merit scholarships have gotten less common over the recent years. For example:
https://www.pvamu.edu/faid/types-of-aid/scholarships/university-scholarships/