SLUMOM

Yes, on page 177 of "Paying for College without Going Broke, 2009 Edition" Kalman Chany writes that it is best to do his worksheets in the back of the book for the instititutional ethod or the (IM) & come up with your EFC. In answering this quesion SR-160 on the CSS Profile for School Year 2009-2010 asking for contribution from students' parents, use the EFC you have calculated, but reduce it by 20%. He writes that in the past parents who put down a higher number than what the Profile calculated, were "deemed responsible to pay the higher figure." This advice is for a dependent student. An independent student should put down a minimal figure (if he gets outside help) or list "zero."

I have always followed this method of listing my calculated EFC less 20%. I have always sent in a letter with the tax returns stating our state & local taxes paid, copies of our medical expenses & any other factors that I feel the FA office should know about.

This 2009 Edition does now have charts for calculating state & local income taxes. Parents will now be able to see if what they actually paid in state & local income taxes exceeds what the FAFSA and or CSS Profile will come up with. In our household, our state & local income taxes have always exceeded what the needs analysis companies come up with.