<p>I am a parent of a senior high student and come February 2014 we will be filling out FAFSA form. My wife and I are separating albeit informally - she staying put in our home and I going back to my country of origin. Obviously my daughter will be staying put with her mom and stay in the US. Before I leave we will be filing jointly as married for tax purposes. My question is how do I file the FAFSA? Do I report both our 2013 income or just one parent’s income? My time frame for leaving is around March. Not sure if I will be able to support my daughter financially from abroad. So she will need all the financial aid she can get.</p>
<p>My time frame for leaving is around March. Not sure if I will be able to support my daughter financially from abroad. So she will need all the financial aid she can get.</p>
<p>Wife will be “staying put”</p>
<p>Daughter will be “staying put”</p>
<p>Why don’t you consider “staying put” and support your daughter?</p>
<p>Will you be living in the same household until March? If so and you fill out fafsa in February, you will include both incomes.</p>
<p>Lost my job a couple of months ago and an opportunity presented itself from abroad.</p>
<p>"<strong><em>Will you be living in the same household until March? If so and you fill out fafsa in February, you will include both incomes.</em></strong></p>
<p>Been staying with my sister since August.</p>
<p>FAFSA is an application for federal aid which isn’t much. The max Pell Grant (if EFC is 0) is about $5600. As EFC increases, Pell Grant decreases. At around EFC 6000, there is no Pell Grant awarded.</p>
<p>If your D applies to the schools that give the best aid, those schools will use both parents’ incomes and expect both parents to help pay for college. You’d be submitting CSS Profile.</p>
<p>Since you are already separated, you will not include your information on the FAFSA. But if your daughter applies to a school that uses the CSS Profile, or their own form, your info could be required regardless of where you live.</p>
<p>Also, your wife will need to put any spousal and child support on the FAFSA.</p>
<p>It’s going to be tricky as the FAFSA is going to ask for income for the calendar year ending 12/31/2013. SInce you have been together since August, your wife’s income was joint with yours up to that date. Unless she has her own income, that is in which case, she can use that plus any support that you have given her. She is going to have to read the directions carefully for this. If she has no income of her own, the way it’s usually done, is that your income would be split in half till you left, and then for the months thereafter, whatever financial support given till the end of the year is her income. That is, unless you have some clearly documented split of income that can be submitted. The FAFSA will cross check with the IRS form your wife will be filing for this past year, and if there is not a match, it will come up as a flag. If she is not filing tax returns at all, a non filers form will be required.</p>
<p>FAFSA is for federal aid and the colleges that use it alone, do not tend to meet full need. Those schools that are generous tend to use the CSS PROFILE as well, and that form often requires bot parents’ information.</p>
<p>Good luck to your daughter in all of this, and hope all works well for all of you.</p>
<p>I’m not sure the above is correct. The MOM did not earn the income. She will NOT have a 2013 tax return that reflects any portion of her husband’s earnings (except if she got spousal support which i believe IS taxed). If the parents are separated, and the mom is the custodial parent…and earned NO money, I believe she is not required to file taxes, and would complete a non-filers statement. She would NOT list any portion of her spouses income on the FAFSA…UNLESS it was listed as spousal support or child support. Those are required on the FAFSA.</p>
<p>I’m hoping Kelsmom will see this thread and clarify this for the OP.</p>
<p>^^
It sounds like the mom does work and have an income. Likely since only she is working right now, her income is mostly what will be on their filing for the 2013 tax year.</p>
<p>Here’s my take based on my general knowledge of fafsa and taxes and not on any thorough research.</p>
<p>The OP states that taxes will be filed as married filing jointly, which is fine because there will be no divorce or legal separation by 12/31, therefore the mom will have filed taxes and can’t file a non-filers statement. Any W-2 or 1099 or other income in her name only will have to be reported on fafsa. Also, I believe 1/2 of any jointly earned interest/dividends or other joint income would have to be reported. I’m not aware of any special rules concerning community property states or in general requiring 1/2 of the OP’s W-2/1099 or other income be reported. The mom would have to report any support provided by the OP. Also, I think 1/2 of any joint assets would have to be reported. In community property states it could also be 1/2 of any assets only in the OP’s name, I’m not sure about that.</p>
<p>The problem will be that the IRS Data Retrieval Tool can’t be used and a tax transcript will also show joint income. If selected for verification I think the mom will have to provide documentation in some other fashion of her income.</p>
<p>As others have said, schools requiring profile or their own finaid form will likely require NPC info.</p>
<p>OP, you may want to crunch the tax numbers for married filing jointly vs. married filing separately and see how much of a difference there is. Married filing separately would likely be simpler for fafsa but the tax difference could eat up much of any finaid your daughter would get from filing fafsa.</p>
<p>Annoyingdad summed it up to my understanding. </p>
<p>I guess my point…I don’t believe there is ANY circumstance where the custodial parent would use the non-custodial parent’s income…or any part of it as earned income on the FAFSA. They WOULD use spousal and child support. </p>
<p>And yes, for joint accounts, any “revenue” from those would be partially the mom’s on her FAFSA.</p>
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<p>I am not sure you are going to be able to be considered separated for 2013 since you did live together for 8 months of this year.</p>
<p>[FinAid</a> | Financial Aid Applications | Head of Household](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/fafsa/headofhousehold.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/fafsa/headofhousehold.phtml)</p>
<p>If the dad is truly concerned about his D being able to have college costs covered, then he may not understand the FA process.</p>
<p>FAFSA is for federal aid which isn’t much. If the mom has a decent job, then her income is probably too high for a Pell Grant (which is paid for by taxpayers)</p>
<p>For the schools that give the best aid, then likely the school will use CSS Profile and require both parents’ income info…even if the dad has left the country.</p>
<p>I think the dad should figure out how to earn enough money either here or in his home country so he can help his daughter pay for college (since that seems to be his concern). However, if his plan is to abandon his D financially, then looking for ways for taxpayers to fund his D’s education isn’t very manly of him.</p>
<p>OhioMom, that’s a long, long link. Could you point out the 8 month reference as regards fafsa? The link seems to refer mostly to IRS rules for head of household and refers to tax code from 2006-07 so may be out of date. The OP is going to be filing taxes married filing jointly.</p>
<p>IRS “considered unmarried” requires 6+ months apart in the year, yes for HoH purposes.</p>
<p>I assumed FAFSA requirements were the same as the IRS in considering informally separated parents to be “considered unmarried”.</p>
<p>But as I look it appears the FAFSA standard is more lenient - sorry:</p>
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<p><a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1314AVG.pdf[/url]”>http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1314AVG.pdf</a> - p17</p>
<p>p 92 has more:</p>
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<p><strong><em>However, if his plan is to abandon his D financially, then looking for ways for taxpayers to fund his D’s education isn’t very manly of him.</em></strong></p>
<p>That’s a harsh way of judging an unemployed dad who has worked and paid his taxes dutifully for 26 years, don’t you think, mom of 2 college kids?</p>
<p>^^^That’s great that you worked and paid taxes for 26 years (although isn’t that what we ALL are supposed to do when we have a family?). However, your responsibility to your daughter doesn’t end when you leave your marriage or your job. If you intend to return to your home country for a financial opportunity to take care of only yourself then I’d say that would constitute abandonment; especially if you are looking to others to fund your daughter’s education.</p>
<p>JMO</p>
<p>It doesn’t sound like this is a “separation,” but rather two married people who are separated by choice due to job opportunities in two separate places. “Separated” for FAFSA is for those whose marriages are in trouble. Folks who simply live in two different places are NOT what “separated” status is meant for. Sounds like the parents are married and need to include both incomes.</p>
<p>I think the rest of us interpreted moving out of the household and in with his sister in August as a sign that the marriage is in trouble.</p>