<p>swimcatsmom, thanks for the response. I agree about them needing to ask for the FICA.</p>
<p>Where did you get those FAFSA instructions? I don’t remember seeing the line that says "The amount reported here will receive certain income allowances (deductions) from the income for necessary expenses (such as taxes and basic living costs). " It seems to support the recommendation from the author of the “Paying for College…” book to include pre-tax income like 401k contributions. However, the rest of those instructions talk about getting the income information from the IRS form 1040 which would not include 401k contributions. The income on line 7 of the 1040 form comes from Box 1 on the W-2 rather than Box 3.</p>