<p>When estimating EFC do we include the unusual revenue, for example, a lottery, in family income calculation, Knowing that it may not happen again in the following years?</p>
<p>Any income for the year of your finaid application MUST be included whether it’s one time or continuing. For example, if you receive a one time work bonus, that must be included. If you win the lottery, that must be included for that year.</p>
<p>Ah, it is not what I had hoped to hear but thank you, Thumper1.</p>
<p>Kit, perhaps you can take some of that windfall and use it for some of the college expenses during this one year. Remember also that any money in regular savings, CDs and the like will be counted as assets in subsequent years as well.</p>
<p>If I had a one-time windfall like a big lottery payoff I’d put the money in a 529 education savings account and encourage my D to take a “gap” year before applying so my financial reports for financial aid purposes would reflect my normal earnings the following year. Money in a 529 account owned by a parent naming their child as beneficiary counts as the parent’s asset (not the child’s) for financial aid purposes, and parental assets are “taxed” less heavily in calculating need than parental income and the child’s own assets.</p>