<p>Hi. Hope somebody can answer this quandary.</p>
<p>My boyfriend (a returning adult student) has just completed an associates degree at one school and is now back full time elsewhere to complete a BS is a related field. He doesn’t work and hasn’t for the duration of his full time degree status. We live together, so he really has no expenses. </p>
<p>He has gotten a fairly generous aid package at his new school, but now they are crabbing that his FAFSA indicates that he doesn’t make enough to support himself and they want him to list how much he has to pay for rent, food, etc., and if there are any special considerations.</p>
<p>My inclination is to be honest and tell them I am paying for everything for now, including any additional tuition costs for what FA isn’t covering. However, I don’t really think I need to give them all of my information, as we aren’t married and, in the eyes of the IRS etc, I’m not financially responsible for him. And this is my one concern—can the school, which is private, then deem me financially responsible? I don’t want his aid package reduced. The entire point of not getting married yet is to leave him as independent and poor.</p>
<p>Yes, the college could “push the issue” if he does not have any income. Does he have any kind of job at all? If so, you might be able to make the case that he lives free at your place but he does cover his living expenses like food, books, sundries, etc. outside of a place to sack out.</p>
<p>Okay, so if he doesn’t have a lease in his name or any utilities, then he doesn’t have a legal obligation. And if we report that I pay that stuff, that doesn’t mean that they can then demand for me to pay extra tuition, for instance–that’s really what I’m worried about–I don’t want them to consider us as married because legally I’m not obligated to provide my income to be considered for financial aid and then perhaps have his need-based aid cut. If it’s simply a question of providing for living expenses (which his FA package does NOT cover at all) that’s not a big deal, but I just don’t want them to say that I have to cover $6000 in tuition, for instance.</p>
<p>No one can demand that you pay anything at all. They may increase his EFC based on the cash support that you give him though…then HE would have to figure out how to pay that. Can he work part time? Is he already taking the max in Stafford loans?</p>
<p>Any bills in his name that you pay must be reported as other untaxed income. That would include tuition bills. If you pay $5000 a year, he must report $5000 a year … if you pay $10,000 a year, he must report $10,000 a year. </p>
<p>When he completes the form for the school, he needs to be honest. If the lease is not in his name, he will indicate that he lives with a friend. Some schools will adjust the living expenses budget downward if the student has his living expenses paid by someone else. </p>
<p>If you pay ANYTHING - car insurance, tuition, medical bills, credit cards, etc - that is in his name, that amount must be reported.</p>
<p>If you’ve lived together for two years that sounds like a common law marriage to me. There’s lots of people with government issue marriage licenses who don’t have joint accounts. </p>
<p>Seems to me you should report 100% of your income/assets/support as you are common law married. I paid 100% of my spouse’s four years of college & support starting when we had only been married about 2 years … but then we had one of those government issued marriage licenses.</p>
<p>No matter how it “sounds” to mymail10135, common law marriage is recognized by only a few states, and requires that the couple hold themselves out to the world as a married couple–not remotely relevant to OP’s situation or issue.</p>
<p>Do you claim him as a dependent on your tax return? If so, you may want to look at the IRS rules for education tax credits - they can be found in Publication 970 at [Internal</a> Revenue Service](<a href=“http://www.irs.gov%5DInternal”>http://www.irs.gov).</p>
<p>Agree with mommaj. Commonlaw is not recognized in many states. It isn’t in the state I live in either.
Seems like you would be crowing over this strategy, mymail. But per your own link, to be considered commonlaw, “If you live in one of the above states and you “hold yourself out to be married” (by telling the community you are married, calling each other husband and wife, using the same last name, filing joint income tax returns, etc.)” which they are not. Find your comments a bit ironic.</p>
It is not reported as income to him on his tax return, and not taxable to him, but it IS reported as “untaxed income” on the FAFSA. The only way you get a tuition credit for him is if you claim him as a dependent as Kelsmom pointed out.</p>
<p>Be careful with claiming him as a dependent for tax purposes, as that has another set of rules you’ll need to decipher and follow. Basically, in order for him to be your dependent, you would have to have provided more than half of his support for the year. Support includes educational expenses but if he has other funding sources such as loans, that is support that he provided. You’ll want to keep very good records if you choose to claim him in case the exemption is challenged by the IRS.</p>
<p>I was going to say the same thing ^^ a course of action might be to sit down with pen and paper and go through your expenses and jot down what each of you contributes…assuming he does contribute something (food, utilities, gas, car or transportation, sundries, etc.)</p>