Why can't I claim my girlfriend as a dependent on my FAFSA?

Paying for College
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<p>Hello, everyone.</p>

<p>I'm sorry to keep rehashing such a common issue, but I honestly don't understand why I can't claim my live-in girlfriend as a dependent on my FAFSA.</p>

<p>I have seen several threads on this forum in which a male student asks if he would be able to claim his live-in girlfriend as a dependent on his FAFSA, and the student is always told he cannot. However, when I called the FAFSA's 1-800 help line and asked this question, I was told that, if my girlfriend meets the criteria for dependency, I'm required to claim her. The person I spoke to told me I must file as an independent student in this case.</p>

<p>From what I understand, question 52 on the FAFSA reads: </p>

<p>
[quote]
Do you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30, 2012? </p>

<p>Select Yes if other people (not your children or spouse) live with you and receive more than half of their support and will continue to receive more than half of their support from you through June 30, 2012.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Since she's neither my spouse nor my child, we have lived together continuously for nearly three years, I currently provide more than half of her support, and I will provide more than half of her support for the next year, how does she fail to meet these requirements?</p>

<p>For those who want a more in-depth explanation, my girlfriend and I have been together for three years. She has multiple disabilities, both physical and psychological. She used to support both of us, and accurately claimed me as a dependent on her income taxes a few years ago, but her health has deteriorated since. Now, she works just a few hours per week from home. Since I have a better-paying job, I provide more than half of her support and it's very likely I will continue to do so for the next year.</p>

<p>Also, I realize this has nothing to with my dependency status, but in case anyone is curious, we both moved out of our parents' homes when we turned 18 and have received virtually no support from any family members since, unless you count holiday gifts as "support." I'm turning 21 in a few weeks; she's 22. We have no children. Thus far, we've both always filed our FAFSAs as dependents.</p>

<p>So, I realize that the general consensus on these forums is that live-in girlfriends are not dependents for the purposes of the FAFSA, but can someone explain why this is the case?</p>

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<p>" I honestly don’t understand why I can’t claim my live-in girlfriend as a dependent on my FAFSA."</p>

<p>Because you did not marry her.</p>

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<p>That’s not an explanation.</p>

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<p>But glido, if I had married her, then I surely wouldn’t be able to claim her, because she would be my spouse!</p>

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<p>This is the problem:</p>

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<p>How can they be sure that your live-in girlfriend will continue to receive more than half of their support from you for the next year? What if you break up?</p>

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<p>The above comment makes no sense. If you are married, your spouse IS included on your FAFSA…as your spouse.</p>

<p>Is your live in girlfriend like your spouse…or is she like s dependent child? If she is like a spouse…then you’ve answered your own question.</p>

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<p>CSmajor.</p>

<p>If your GF were your spouse, then you DO claim her as a dependent. A dependent isn’t “just” a child (and as your GF, she’s not your child either.)</p>

<p>Does your GF earn any money? If she doesn’t…or doesn’t earn much…tell her to get a job or a better job.</p>

<p>If you want to claim her, then marry her. If she’s not worth marrying, move on.</p>

<p>And…why the heck should tax-payers give you more financial aid so that you can support a GF? ??? Use your money to pay for your education.</p>

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<p>

Oh yes! I love that philosophy–let the rich get richer whilst excluding those who may not have the means otherwise.</p>

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<p>I wonder about something…</p>

<p>What do gay ladies and gentlemen do? </p>

<p>Gay marriage is legal is only a handful of states as of right now. </p>

<p>OP’s question made me think of that and I am sorry if it is off topic.</p>

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<p>That might not be so easy. There seems to be some kind of downturn in the economy (I saw something like that in the news) and the girlfriend has multiple physical disabilities – not an easy situation to just “get a better job”. </p>

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<p>I suspect that things like this (not necessarily the FAFSA, but situations where being married confers some kind of benefit) is part of the reason why gay people want the right to get married so much) </p>

<p>As far as the OP’s question – if you want to claim your girlfriend as a dependent and you don’t trust the advice given on this forum, what you must do is contact the financial aid offices at your school. They will have the most up-to-date guidelines and be able to advise you how to proceed on your specific situation. There are plenty of knowledgeable people on these forums but the best person who can help you is someone who works at your college financial aid office (and your girlfriend’s, if you are at two different colleges).</p>

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<p>The person I spoke to told me I must file as an independent student in this case.</p>

<p>How old are you?</p>

<p>If you’re under 24, not married, not a vet, etc, then you’re a dependent student.</p>

<p>If you’re over 24 and your girlfriend is disabled, does she receive any social security or other benefits? If so, then I don’t think you can have it both ways…you can’t claim her as some kind of pseudo-spouse (she’s not a child)…and then not include her income on your FAFSA. </p>

<p>This is kind of the situation with grandparents who live with families. They typically can’t be included in the household count because they often have some kind of income…retirement, social security, etc. And, in truth, some are actually contributing to the household.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the replies, guys.</p>

<p>I think I may have phrased my question incorrectly. I realize I could claim my girlfriend if we were married, but then she would my spouse, so question 52 wouldn’t apply. What I want to know is whether my girlfriend counts as a “dependent” under question 52.</p>

<p>polarscribe, you offered the best explanation so far. So, I ask you, if the issue is that there’s no way to prove she’ll continue to receive more than half of her support from me for the next year, could I at least back up my claim that she will with extensive documentation? That is, leases and utility bills from the past ~3 years to prove we’ve been continuously living together, letters from older people who know our relationship well, a letter from her mother saying neither she nor my girlfriend’s father have supported her for over 4 years, my paystubs, her online paystubs, recent rent payments in my name, recent utility payments in my name, medical verification of her disabilities, a signed statement from both of us, etc? Could her previous FAFSAs and tax statements help?</p>

<p>WandMParent, thank you for your compassionate response. I know I didn’t mention this, but I’m actually in the process of transferring to a new school. If I wanted to claim my girlfriend as a dependent, would you advise that I complete my FAFSA with question 52 marked “yes” first, send it to the schools I’m interested in, then make appointments to speak to the financial aid representatives when I receive requests for verification? Or, would you advise that I speak to the financial aid officers from the schools I’m interested in about my situation before filling out the FAFSA? </p>

<p>Other information that may or may not be important:
I’m turning 21 in a few weeks
My girlfriend is not receiving disability benefits (though I’m sure she’d qualify)
I don’t mind including her income on my FAFSA (she makes a small amount working from home)
My girlfriend already has a bachelor’s degree
I’m working on an undergraduate degree
I’ve never been in the armed services
I’m not sure if I’ve been technically been homeless or at risk of homelessness
I’ve never been a ward of the court, orphaned, in foster care, an emancipated minor, or “in legal guardianship” </p>

<p>Also, is the determination of who can be considered a non-spouse, non-child dependent under question 52 of the FAFSA made by the Department of Education, or by individual schools?</p>

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<p>I believe if you are under 24, unmarried and have no children then you are a dependent yourself. Therefore you can’t claim anybody as being YOUR dependent.</p>

<p>End of story.</p>

<p>Either get married, have a kid, or turn 24. Those are your options.</p>

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<p>I was thinking the same thing. If the OP is under 24, unmarried, and not in the military… he’s a dependent of his parents for FAFSA purposes, and wouldn’t be able to claim anyone else as a dependent.</p>

<p>CJSmajor, it does not matter if your parents do not give you any money, for the FAFSA you still must report both their income and your own.</p>

<p>Dependency for FAFSA purposes and tax purposes are two completely different things.</p>

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<p>So, if I can’t file as independent, then I can’t claim dependents… but I can’t claim dependents unless I’m already able to file as independent.</p>

<p>If that’s the case, what’s the purpose of question 52? It specifically refers to a student’s dependent who is not a spouse and not a child. I’m so confused.</p>

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<p>*Do you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and who receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30, 2012? *</p>

<p>I believe that is a question for parents to answer in your situation. Since you’re a dependent child, your parents would have to demonstrate that THEY are providing more than 50% of your GF’s care. And, they’re not. </p>

<p>Or…if you’re over 24, it’s a question that is asked in case you’re supporting - say - an orphaned minor-aged sibling.</p>

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<p>CJSMajor, you should just answer the FAFSA questions truthfully. You will truthfully report your age and your marital status, and you can also report that you provide “someone other than your spouse or your child” with more than half of their support.</p>

<p>You don’t need to claim this makes your girlfriend a “dependent” – you merely need to answer the questions. If, upon review, there is a question about that, you’ll either be asked for documentation and/or an adjustment will just be made.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t spend much time wrangling with this. Just answer the questions truthfully. It’s not up to you what they ask or how they process the information you provide… just give them the information required on the FAFSA.</p>

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<p>No problem. As for your question, if you have a major question like this, I would recommend consulting the financial aid representative as soon as possible (unless you would have to miss a deadline to do that). Especially if this is a new school that you’re enrolling in, you want to make sure that you can afford the school before you accept their offer of enrollment and go through any verification process.</p>

<p>Have you been admitted to the college that you’re thinking of going to? Most of the colleges that I can think of have a line under the dependency question section of their financial aid website that says something like:</p>

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<p>That’s probably what you’re going to have to do.</p>

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<p>No, Mom2collegekids, that question is asked of students too.</p>

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<p>Hopefully Kelsmom will chime in…she’s a FA officer and would know how this would fly.</p>