You probably think it’s a simple question. We are a household of 4. My older child is severely disabled and receives public assistance. He is 20 and not on our taxes. But we take care of him and pay for his medical treatment and stuff. Should I put 3 or 4 for people in my household?
Does his public assistance include medical insurance/medicaid and a monthly disability payment?
If so, then it would be hard for you to show that you’re contributing 51% towards his expenses.
? You mention that you’re paying for his medical treatment. Do you mean that your family insurance is paying? or is he not covered on your insurance?
This young person is disabled. I thought they could be declared as dependents on taxes, and members of household…if disabled, and living with the family (who are providing housing, food, utilities, etc).
Hoping one of the tax experts will,chime in.
Maybe to qualify for public assistance, he can’t be claimed.
What does his public assistance pay for? Such monthly payments can be anywhere from $700+ per month. Does that money go towards his “room and board” or towards his medical expenses that insurance doesn’t cover?
Does he receive food stamps?
Do you receive a “Carer’s Allowance”?
SSI and medicaid. He is paying his room and board. He is not on my taxes. So I will put 3 on my FAFSA. Btw, the one going to college is not disabled.
If he pays room and board then sounds like not a dependent for fafsa purposes ( I’m not an expert on that, I personally would want to call that fafsa hotline to get a more definitive answer. Dependent for tax purpose is not always align with dependent for fafsa.)
But if you don’t get to put this one as household member, be sure to explain the situation and detail the amount you contribute to medical per year. Some colleges may give you consideration.
This sort of sounds like a situation where a grandparent lives with the family, collects SS and is on medicare. In those cases, the person is not counted on FAFSA. In the case of grands (like this person), the grands are usually contributing to the household to cover room and board.
I think disabled kids are a little different than grandparents who are living with their kids.
Disabled kids usually are living with the family because there isn’t another option. Usually it’s because independent living isn’t possible. The family is sort of acting like their “group home”.
That’s a good point. I’m just predicting how FAFSA looks at it. This adult child receives SSI and medicaid, and maybe food stamps. He pays his parents “room and board.” Likely the parents aren’t contributing 51% of his living expenses since Medicaid is paying for a big chunk and his SSI is paying for his food and “rent”.
That said, there are grandparents who live with their adult children for the same reason. They need assisted-living, but can’t afford or don’t want to go to a assisted living place.
You will want to clarify this for colleges. If you don’t think the paperwork the school requires gives you an appropriate place to describe it, you can also write a letter to the FA office describing the circumstances.