<p>I’ve been working couple of years without paying taxes (not in US, in my home country); should I say that to colleges? If not, how should I explain what I’ve been doing these years?
I reckon on generous financial aid also =)) Will reporting hurt my chances to get aid? Thx for the answers in advance!</p>
<p>Why in the world would you tell colleges that you haven’t been paying taxes? In the US, it’s a serious offense (I know it’s no big deal in many, many countries, especially if corruption coexists with taxes. But it’s NOT the same in the US, where it’s considered the same as stealing.)
If you’ve been working, you’ve been working. That’s what you say. You say you’ve been paid in cash (as I assume was the case, ie undeclared work paid in cash by whoever you did the work for.) You will report your earnings honestly and of course if you make enough money to pay for your schooling you will not receive financial aid and in any case they’ll expect you to contribute to your own education with part of your savings (unless you were the family’s breadwinner, ie you had “dependents”, people who depended on your salary to live.)</p>
<p>sorry, double post</p>
<p>Report the job on your college application and your income on your financial aid application, and check the box saying that you were not required to file an income tax return (so that they won’t ask you for tax statements that are inconsistent with your reported earnings).</p>
<p>Hiding the income on your financial aid application is fraud. Hiding the job on your college application will leave a huge unexplained gap that will only hurt you. (They will wonder what you’ve been doing with your time: were you playing videogames all day? laying depressed in bed?)</p>
<p>to MYOS1634, b@r!um:
So, if I’ll check the box that I wasn’t asked to file an income tax return, then they won’t ask me to substantiate somehow my reported low income by any official documents? Will they take just my word as evidence?
By the way, I know that not paying taxes is serious offense in US, but in my home country half of all employees don’t pay any taxes. It’s a weak excuse, but that’s how it is :)</p>
<p>Yes. In the US, you’re not supposed to lie on an official document. If you do, you are dismissed/severely punished. So they’ll take your word as evidence, that you earned x amount and you didn’t file a tax return (with the assumption that if you lied, you’ll lose your admission/scholarship/will be blacklisted from colleges).</p>