Wrong Dislocated worker info?

Paying for College
1

<p>I filled out the Fafsa for the 2011-2012 year.</p>

<p>I was recently fired from a job for what may be considered a violation of company policy. I know what the qualifications for a dislocated worker are and i believe that i meet them, at least the ones that would apply to me.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I would be unable to return to my previous occupation because i don't have enough experience to get another job in the same field. I knew somebody that helped me get the job at the company i was fired from.</p></li>
<li><p>The state of Alabama awarded me unemployment benefits.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I put that i was a dislocated worker on my Fafsa, but I'm just not so sure if thats right or not. The Financial Aid department at the school i am trying to go to is not much help, everytime i try to call them they don't return my phone calls, and everytime i go up there the lady at the front desk basically won't let me talk to the financial aid rep in the back, so thats why i am asking you nice folks for help. </p>

<p>I know that alot of questions regarding the dislocated worker status has been asked, but i feel this particular situation is unique, so i was wondering if any of you fine people had any opinions about this.</p>

<p>Thank you for your time!!</p>

2

<p>It may not even make any difference. Are you the student? Are you married? Do you have dependents other than a spouse? What was your 2010 AGI? Were you eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ in 2010 (that is, was there anything on your 1040 that could NOT have been entered on a 1040A? If so, the answer to this question is no). What is your EFC for 2011-12?</p>

<p>If you can answer the questions above, I can tell you whether or not it even makes any difference.</p>

3

<p>i made 27,483
my daughter gets 6036 a year from social security because of her father passing away.
i have 2 children and I’m married.
I would be able to fill out a 1040 a, but jackson hewitt filled it out in a regular 1040, at least there should be no reason that i know of, i wasn’t self-employed and did not itemize anything.</p>

4

<p>I also wanted to say that when i choose yes for the dislocated worker status, i believe it blacked out the spot where i would enter in the social security my step-daughter recieves. I would also like to point out that the social security comes in my daughters name care of my wife because my daughter is too young to cash it herself.</p>

5

<p>Your spouse’s income is going to be relevant too.</p>

6

<p>My spouse did not work last year.</p>

7

<p>Untaxable social security income is not reported on FAFSA.</p>

8

<p>How can you tell if that type of social security is untaxable?</p>

<p>And i just want to say thank you to you nice folks to help me out, im pretty ignorant when it comes to this type of stuff:)</p>

9

<p>Whether social security benefits are taxable depends on the recipients total income. If the total income goes over a certain threshold then part of the SS income becomes taxable and as the income goes higher more of the SS income becomes taxable. I would assume that your daughter has no other income in which case she is probably well below the threshold for hers to be taxable.</p>

10

<p>The IRS website ([Internal</a> Revenue Service](<a href=“http://www.irs.gov%5DInternal”>http://www.irs.gov)) nakes it easy to figure out whether or not the SS income is taxable. It probably is not in your case, but you should find out for sure.</p>

<p>You say your spouse did not work last year. Did you file married filing jointly? I hope so … you cannot file as head of household if you are married. I point this out because many people do, and as financial aid officers we cannot accept their tax returns for verification purposes with the incorrect filing status. They have to file amended returns if they want financial aid.</p>

<p>From what you have said, you would have an automatic 0 EFC, anyway … at the very least, I assume in your situation you don’t have any assets to speak of, so you would probably have a 0 EFC even if regular methodology is used. </p>

<p>What this means is, it most likely doesn’t matter whether or not you say you are a dislocated worker. The EFC would probably be the same with or without saying you are a dislocated worker.</p>

11

<p>My concern is is that i also have a little over 14,000 that was gifted to me in increments of 300 a week last year, but when i put that i was a dislocated worker, it blacked out the box where you would put that information in.</p>

<p>I know that once she reached a certain amount, the money becomes part of my grandmothers estate, and she pays the taxes only on the amount over what the government says is the maximum that she is able to give.</p>

<p>I just don’t want the government fining me and sending me to jail. Im an honest person and I just want to make sure that if i do qualify for Financial Aid that it is done leagally.</p>

<p>So my question is, what do you folk think i need to do?</p>

<p>Thank you again for yall time! :)</p>

12

<p>Go back and do an update to the FAFSA but don’t submit it. Change the answer to dislocated worker from yes to no. Then make sure your answer to eligible to file 1040A/1040EZ is yes. Do you still get to skip the info dislocated worker let you skip? I bet you do. Also, if anyone in your household has received federal means tested benefits in the last 24 months, that should also let you skip (benefits includes SSI, free/reduced lunch, food stamps, housing assistance). </p>

<p>Your answer to the dislocated worker question is not fraudulent, by the way. The description for this is confusing, and a lot of people are not sure whether or not they qualify. They just answer as best they can.</p>

13

<p>I found this on the web. Its qualifications to be able to fill out a 1040a:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Your income is only from wages, salaries, tips, IRA distributions, pensions and annuities, taxable social security and railroad retirement benefits, taxable scholarship and fellowship grants, interest, ordinary dividends (including Alaska Permanent Fund dividends), capital gain distributions, and unemployment compensation.</p></li>
<li><p>Your taxable income is less than $100,000.</p></li>
<li><p>Your adjustments to income are for only the following items.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>a. Educator expenses.</p>

<p>b. IRA deduction.</p>

<p>c. Student loan interest deduction.</p>

<p>d. Tuition and fees deduction.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>You do not itemize your deductions.</p></li>
<li><p>Your taxes are from only the following items.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>a. Tax Table.</p>

<p>b. Alternative minimum tax. (See chapter 30. )</p>

<p>c. Advance earned income credit (EIC) payments, if you received any. (See chapter 36. )</p>

<p>d. Recapture of an education credit. (See chapter 35. )</p>

<p>e. Form 8615, Tax for Children Under Age 18 With Investment Income of More Than $1,700.</p>

<p>f. Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet.</p>

<ol>
<li>You claim only the following tax credits.</li>
</ol>

<p>a. The credit for child and dependent care expenses. (See chapter 32. )</p>

<p>b. The credit for the elderly or the disabled. (See chapter 33. )</p>

<p>c. The child tax credit. (See chapter 34. )</p>

<p>d. The additional child tax credit. (See chapter 34. )</p>

<p>e. The education credits. (See chapter 35. )</p>

<p>r. The retirement savings contributions credit. (See chapter 37. )</p>

<p>g. The earned income credit. (See chapter 36. )</p>

<ol>
<li>You did not have an alternative minimum tax adjustment on stock you acquired from the exercise of an incentive stock option. (See Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income. )</li>
</ol>

<p>You must meet all of the above requirements to use Form 1040A. If you do not, you must use Form 1040. </p>

<p>Would that untaxed 14,400 make me ineligible to file a 1040a? It says at the top that your income only come from those sources and your able to qualify for a 1040a. Seeing as how that 10,400 did not come from any of those sources unless i am reading them wrong, do you think that i still qualify to file a 1040a?</p>

14

<p>Correction, i meant to say 14,400 that second time. The forum won’t let me edit it hehe.</p>

15

<p>

</p>

<p>No. </p>

<p>You report that amount on FAFSA under ‘untaxed income’, not on any 1040 form.</p>

16

<p>I appreciate your answer, but i was referring to the fact that that is “gift” money, and I was asking if it could be considered income? Because the way it looks, it would not be considered income, but i just wanted to ask somebody elses opinion. The IRS website is a little confusing with there terminology.</p>

17

<p>If you didn’t report it on your taxes, it won’t make a difference in your eligibility to file a 1040A/EZ. If you had to report it on a tax return as some type of other income, that would necessitate filing a 1040. Otherwise, if you don’t have anything on the list, you are eligible.</p>

<p>You would report the gift money on the FAFSA as other income, but your EFC would be automatically 0 so it won’t come into play.</p>