Your Questions About Fafsa

Maria asks…

What to put for parent income on FAFSA if parent is unemployed?

Hello 🙂 I am filling out my FAFSA for financial aid and there is a question asking me to list my dad’s income in “how much did your father/ stepfather earn from working(wages, salaries, tips etc). My dad has been unemployed for the past year and I am unsure as to what to put. Does unemployment compensation count as income? Or should I leave it to $0 as the helpful hints on the side say to: Use Lines: 7 + 12 + 18* + Box 14 [Code A] of IRS Schedule K-1 (Form 1065) for IRS Form 1040, but I do not understand what it means. Can someone please clarify what I have to put for my dad’s income? Thank You.

Nagesh answers:

Unemployment compensation is considered income. Put it down. You will still get the money from FAFSA but if you do not put anything it will slow FAFSA down.

Lisa asks…

How is FAFSA effected if a student enters 0 rather than 1 exemptions?

How is the FAFSA effected If a 25 year old students files for FAFSA with 0 exemptions rather than 1.
At 25 he is treated as an independent student and does not need to report the parents income just his but he is still living with a parent and being essentially supported by a parent. How does FAFSA see this. The parent benefits claiming the student as a dependent but does this affect the amount FAFSA awards.

Nagesh answers:

There is often confusion about this because dependency on the FAFSA is not the same thing as dependency on the tax return. A student who is being supported by his parents can be claimed as a dependent on their tax return, but that doesn’t affect his dependency status on the FAFSA. He can be considered independent on the FAFSA for a reason such as age even though he is considered a dependent for tax purposes.

The number of exemptions you list on the FAFSA does not affect the calculation of the EFC directly, but because it can affect your AGI, (which is included in the EFC calculation) the FA Administrator at your school has to confirm that you filed your return correctly and the AGI is accurate. A person can only be claimed as an exemption on one return, but it is a common mistake for parents to claim a student as a dependent, and then the student claims himself on his own return. Asking you to list the number of exemptions helps FA administrators spot this error, particularly when parent information is required on the FAFSA. For example, if you put down that you claimed 1 exemption, and your FAFSA shows that your parent has a household of 2 and he has 2 exemptions on his return, then the FAA will want to double check to make sure that you weren’t claimed on both returns. As an independent, you won’t have to provide parent information, so the FAA won’t know whether your parent claimed you or not. However, if your FAFSA is selected for verification, the FAA is required to compare the information on the FAFSA to your actual tax return. If you put 0 on one and 1 on the other, he/she will see that and you will be required to correct your FAFSA to match what’s on your return before you can receive any funds.

If you aren’t working and your FAFSA shows that your income is very low, many schools will require you to fill out a form to explain how you were able to support yourself on that amount of money. If you answer that your parents supported you, and your tax return is showing 1 exemption, they will sometimes ask to see the first page of the parents’ return to confirm that you weren’t also claimed by them. I wouldn’t worry to much about how this will affect your awards. If you’re an independent by age, and you’re being supported by parents, your income is probably low enough to qualify for grants anyway, so it really won’t matter.

So, the bottom line is, if you’re being supported by your parents and they claim you as a dependent on their return, your tax return should show that you claimed 0 exemptions, and so should your FAFSA.

Mary asks…

How long after the FAFSA is completed and processed will I hear back from universities?

Ok well my FAFSA is now processed and it says they sent my SAR to the universities already. About how long will it take to receive an award letter? A few weeks? Month? more?

Nagesh answers:

It depends on how long it takes for your FAFSA to process, how swamped their aid offices are, and a few other factors. I’d expect that you should hear something back within a month or two, usually, but you can likely get a good idea by visiting the aid websites of the school. Usually, they’ll have a place where they mention turnaround time, and if not, you can even email them and ask them how long the process might take.

Robert asks…

How do I change the start date on fafsa?

We filled out the fafsa papers for the fall but she wants to start during the summer now already. I checked everything but don’t know how to change the start date. Please help.
Thank you.

Nagesh answers:

The summer is likely part of a different award year so you will most likely have to fill out an entirely new application.
The application you filled out was for fall 2013 and spring 2014. Most schools consider the summer as the last term of the year. So, that would include summer 2014.
To get aid for summer 2013 you will need to go back and fill out the 2012/2013 FAFSA application using your 2011 tax information. Your school also likely has a supplemental summer application you will need to complete as well.
Contact your financial aid office to make sure which award year the summer is included on. If by chance your is one of the few that consider it the first semester of the year then you will most likely just have to fill out a supplemental application with the school.

Donna asks…

How do I transfer my fafsa data from one year to another?

I filled out a 2012-2013 fafsa but would like to transfer all the data to 2013-2014. How can I do this. Otherwise I’m going to have to start all over.

Nagesh answers:

Go to fafsa.ed.gov and click on “start a new FAFSA” then type in the exact information you have previously entered for your other FAFSA application(s) such as first name, last name, DOB, SSN, and pin number. It will populate most of the stuff you filled out in prevous applications and all you will need to add is you and your parents tax information plus the school code.

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