college residency and fafsa/tax implications?

[floridafam]

If she has worked very hard and her grades are good or she has good test scores, check on the out of state tuition waiver.

 

[NotUrsula]

I know a couple kids whose parents won't give them anything for school and their schools didn't have anything called a parental refusal
They were just told their aid was according to their parents fafsa and that was all they qualified for whether their parents gave them anything or not. So don't count on this adjusted eligibility.

Just FYI, almost every school has an option to apply for such an exception, but they do remain extremely hard to actually get. It takes a BOATLOAD of financial documentation, and add'l third-party affidavits re: your family situation to actually get the appeal heard, and even then the odds against winning the appeal are still about 100 to 1 that it will be denied in the end.

When I was in school the EFC wasn't an issue yet, but every year I got my Pell Grant application audited, because when I was 18 my mother was MY dependent. She was disabled and had a very limited survivor's pension from my dad, and because she had never worked for pay in the US, was not eligible for any form of social security. The majority of the money she received was my part of the survivor's pension while I remained under 21, but I had to let her keep that AND give her a big chunk of what I earned just so that she could keep a roof over her head. Every year the Fin. Aid. folks suggested buying a cheaper car or selling the house to move to a less expensive one, which would have been logical had we owned either a house or a car, but we did not, and hadn't done since I was 12 years old. The university made me appeal my award and re-prove this situation every single year.

 

[dpswift]

We will talk with them when we go to visit in a couple of weeks.

It's tough though. I feel as if she will be self supporting. We are not paying for college, she is. If she lives away for summers, she will give $$ for room and board to my brother from her summer earnings. Yes, I might send her $100 occasionally as a gift, but we won't be supporting her.

If you are not supporting her I do not see how you can claim her on your taxes. Also by not claiming her you make it easier for her to establish residency else where.

 

[lastminutemom]

If you are not supporting her I do not see how you can claim her on your taxes. Also by not claiming her you make it easier for her to establish residency else where.

Did you read the responses? That isn't true... FAFSA, tax dependency and residency aren't related. And most states base residency on the parents'.

If she could live on her own for a year, pay all her bills, (and this doesn't count living with an Uncle), then she might be able to make a case for being a resident of a state -- but you can't be going to school during that time, in most places. And even then, it is a hard case to prove.

Public state universities view out of state students as a revenue source. The Universities want that extra tuition. They don't make it easy for out of state students not to pay the increased tuition.

 

[megsoro]

As a current undergrad, even if you don't claim her, she still needs to report your earnings until she's 24. I have been independent (even have a different state residency) since 19, and have not been claimed on my parents taxes since then. But the FAFSA will not process unless you give your parents information. Dependent for tax purposes and education purposes are very different. Now on the other hand, my school has a special circumstances form I fill out every year stating my independence status from my parents and they basically throw out my (still low) EFC and make up my aid package disregarding that.