ivy/self-employed ?s

stemit
Fri, 12 Apr 2013 18:41:30 +0000

I believe some Ivys try to develop a cash flow picture from your tax returns; therefore depreciation would be backed out since it doesn’t impact cash flow. I do not know about health insurance premium treatment. Home equity is not counted (as an aside keep in mind when evaluating the value of the rental property, the value is the sale price you could reasonably expect in a 30 day sale [i.e., quick sale] less the commission). Some schools will look at the life insurance cash value (if they didn’t, people would go out and purchase it to lower the EFC). Businesses under a certain number of employees are not assigned a value.

While the FA departments will not ask specific questions (apart from making sure the info is complete), when they call with the results of the pre-read, you can make your case during the call - if you are unhappy. Also, in the forms you submit there are opportunities to make your case on unique circumstances.

We also own a small business and the pre-reads varied widely based upon the same information. It’s not a truely transparent process; for the obvious reason that small business owners have a lot of leeway in controlling the timing of expenses and revenue.

My advice is to look into speaking with a reputable planner - the return the schools will look at for you is 2013.