<p>hi
i’m an US citizen but my parents are not.
I’m filling out my FAFSA but have a problem
because of my parent’s tax report.
My parents are both missionaries who work for
a Korean evangelical, non-profit organization.
My parent’s source of income is the offerings and supports from
churches and some individuals.
Thus my parents does not pay tex. They are waived
from paying tex. (The income is tex free)
I have no idea how to fill out my FAFSA.
I selected “will not report tex” for the tex report
but had a problem because the income i wrote down
was above the minimum limit to not report.
And i cannot find any other options during the process.
There are special cases that are accepted such as jobless.
Thus my question is
how should i fill out the part of my parent’s income and tex
when they are missionaries who work for a non-profit organization
and their taxes are waived?</p>
<p>I could be totally wrong about this, but I’m not sure why your parents don’t have to pay income tax. In the US, the non-profit organization or the church is the tax-exempt entity. In general, ministers can apply to be exempt from paying the social security and medicare taxes, and they might get an exemption for housing, but I believe their earnings are still taxable.</p>
<p>It’s been a heckuva long time since clergy were exempt from ss taxes. The churches don’t pay them for the pastor, but the pastor gets to pay self-employment taxes on the whole kit and caboodle, salary AND housing. </p>
<p>OP, your parents taxes aren’t waived by the US, but may be by the Korean government. I suspect what’s happening is that your folks are considered foreigners with income from foreign sources, just like if my H went overseas. His income would still come from the US and we’d pay US taxes, not taxes in his host country (depending on that country’s laws, of course). </p>
<p>How does this affect your FAFSA? Someone with more knowledge than I will have to weigh in, but expect that whatever school you apply to will have plenty of questions.</p>
<p>Are your parents in the US or in another country? If they are not in the US, you would report their income converted to USD at the exchange of the day, and just put 0 for taxes paid.</p>
<p>If they are in the US, then you need to have the organization’s accountant help you out with this one.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>If you print out the FAFSA formula itself <a href=“http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/101310EFCFormulaGuide1112.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/101310EFCFormulaGuide1112.pdf</a> you can try some different scenarios on paper before you enter the numbers in the FAFSA website.</p>
<p>For example, what happens if you put 0 for Adjusted Gross Income, 0 for Taxable Income, 0 for Taxes Paid, and include all of your parents income on the line for Untaxed Income and Benefits?</p>
<p>Got2BeGreen :
Thanks for your reply.
you’re right about ministers but my parents are
missionaries who put all their life behind and work in other country
to help who are in need.
Thus I don’t know about missionary tax system but
in Korea, missionaries don’t pay tax.
But thank you for your reply:)</p>
<p>ordinarylives:
I guess I didn’t make myself clear that my parents are missionaries.
In Korea, pastors and ministers are different from missionaries.
Anyways I think you’re right that my parents are foreigners with income form foreign sources. Thank you for your reply :)</p>
<p>happymomof1:
Thank you for your reply.
yes, I had followed your advice and put 0 for taxes paid.
but one more question is that
How can I expain my situation to colleges
that I’m putting 0 on my parent’s taxes because their
taxes are waived by the Korean government?
I don’t want the college to think that my parents
just simply didn’t pay tax…</p>
<p>Since FAFSA is due in a few days, do you have someone that you can go to for advice? Are you living in the US? Can you talk to a high school counselor?</p>
<p>I just found out about this site yesterday in my local newspaper, finaid.org. They might have someone who can help you, [FinAid</a> | Answering Your Questions](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Answering Your Questions - Finaid)</p>
<p>greenapplei -</p>
<p>Don’t worry about this. Complete the FAFSA as best you can. The financial aid officers know that each country has its own tax regulations. If any of them do ask you about this, all you have to do is explain that where you live your parents’ income is not taxable.</p>
<p>IF a student in this situation is selected for verification, we request a written, signed statement from the parents explaining the source of their income, stating that the country does not require taxes be paid, explaining why the parents are not required to file U.S. taxes, and the amount of income for the base year (2010 for 2011-12). </p>
<p>This reminds me … how hard is it to contact your parents & get signatures for paperwork?</p>
<p>crizello:
Thank you for your reply.
I’m currently in Korea and I graduated from Indian High School.
Teachers and school counselors from my school are not familiar with American University
application or financial aid process.
plus, my case is a bit different and complicated.
I have just sent my FAFSA.
Some colleges that I’d applied for wanted my FAFSA until today…
But this doesn’t clear my problem.
I still need to explain my situation to college financial aid representatives.
I’m still searching and looking for a way…
Thank you for your link …</p>
<p>happymomof1:
Thank you…
Like you said, I have completed my FAFSA at best I can.
To be honest,
I’m also not sure what kind of situation that I am in
and how to explain. but I’m slowly finding ways…
Thank’s a lot happymomof1… you gave me lot of confidence!</p>
<p>Kelsmom:
I think your right…
Actually I want to explain all that…
But how and to where?
should I just send e-mail to the college financial aid office?
It’s not so hard to contact my parents… I can get all the explanations and
documents…
Ok… First I’ll gather up all the documents that I should need and
find a way to send it the colleges…
Thanks!!!</p>
<p>I have just got a email form one of the colleges.
They gave me a reply of what I explained of my situation.
They want me to fill out a Parent Non-Tax Filer Certification
what exactly does this certification mean?
is this something bad?
is this something that needs to be written by people who simply does not pay tax?
because it just seems to be a certification that shows that my parents didn’t
pay tax… (with no explanation)</p>
<p>Just complete the form as best you can, and send it in. They will ask you for more information if they want any. There are a LOT of people who don’t have to file tax returns or pay taxes in the US. The financial aid officers have seen your situation before.</p>
<p>Kelsmom is a financial aid officer, so you can trust her advice.</p>
<p>The certification is NOT bad. Lots of (maybe most?) students have to file a student version. When you “certify” something, you are just promising that it is true. So in this case, you are just verifying that your parents didn’t pay taxes, by promising that you are being honest.</p>
<p>The form they sent you is what you need (we don’t have one, so we have the parents write a statement). Your parents will have to complete it and sign it … you may also have to sign it.</p>
<p>If a school requests parent tax info, contact them to explain your situation & ask them what they want.</p>
<p>happymomof1:
Thank you for noticing that there are many situations like me
giving me… lots of advices…
I really appreciate your help :)</p>
<p>Got2BeGreen:
Thank you for your reply:)
I’ve got relieved after noticing that
it’s just a “certify…” that its promising that I’m being honest…
thank you for your definition…!</p>
<p>kelsmon:
Thank you for you reply !! 
I really appreciate your help :)</p>