How can I fill out the FAFSA if I can't get my parents' tax information?

Question

Because my parents aren't dead and I'm not yet married or paying child support, then on the FAFSA I am labeled a dependent. I filed a separate tax return from my parents. My parents have not filed theirs yet, and I can't get any information from my dad about it. I need it completed this month so I can get financial aid for college.

What can I do?

Answer 1

ok i actually just filled mine out yet and u cant get out of using your parents income tax till you are 24! WOW I EVEN FILED MY OWN TAXES AND EVERYTHING BUT THEY STILL WOULDNT LET ME! There should be a box on ure parents info that says will file! click it and see what happens!

Answer 2

How old are you?  I think you may have to be a certain age to file independent, but you don't have to be married or paying child support to be considered independent.  If you are financially responsible for yourself then you should be able to file independent.  Talk to your financial aid advisor at your college, and they can help you.

Answer 3

You don't need to be married or orphaned to be independent, you just have to make enough money that you take care of more than half of your own financial needs. If you're independent you don't need your parents financial information.

But on the Online FAFSA, there's an option that says "will file", you'll want to choose that. Though, it's awfully late to not have filed last years taxes already :s

Answer 4

Call FAFSA and ask. Sounds like your parents are on the ball, there.

Answer 5

You can submit the FAFSA without ALL the information on it.  Just fill it out as completely as you can, submit it, then go back and make changes after you have gotten the information.  This makes the process quicker.

My mom doesn't file, so there is an option to put "non-filer" on there too.

I would honestly call up the school you are submitting it to, or FAFSA.ed.gov themselves.

Answer 6

You are dependent until you are 24 or meet one of the other qualifcations (married, parents deceased, children you support, veteran.)

However you can still file your FAFSA.  You will check that your parents will file, and you will have to estimate their income.  However, your parents need to get their taxes done, because filing a FAFSA this late and indicating they "will file" is most likely going to get your application flagged for verification, so you will have to turn in copies of your parents tax returns to your school before you can receive your award.  

Your parents are going to have to help you at least estimate or you will not be able to receive financial aid.  A parent's refusual to help, does not consitute you being independent, sorry.  If you want aid, they are going to have to get their taxes in line.

Answer 7

You don't have to file the FAFSA as a dependent... if you filed your own taxes you can file independenet. I just did it a few weeks ago.

Answer 8

Isn't there an option that says "Will File"?  There should be direction explaining how to fill out the form if that's the case.  And I think they have a worksheet that lets you estimate your parents tax return.

You should call or email customer service just to double check though.  They're pretty good with responding quickly.

Answer 9

Check "Will File" on one of your parents income (since they are seperated) info and call and have them guess on the income, assets and taxes.  This will buy you a bit of time, but not much.  If you are going to start school in the fall you really should have filed your fafsa in Feb/March.

Answer 10

According to the FAFSA website you will need the following:Your Parents´ 2007 Federal Income Tax return (if you are a dependent student) . Will your mother give you the information you need ? Most times dependants don't file seperatre returns ,because your parents claim you as a dependant. Here is some helpful imformation that you may use to get some answers.

For assistance with problems or difficulties while using FAFSA on the Web, or for specific questions about the FAFSA, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) or 1-319-337-5665. If you are hearing-impaired and have questions, contact the TTY line at 1-800-730-8913.

Answer 11

You have to be 24 before you can claim independent from your parents. Isn't there an option where it says your parents haven't filed yet? Try contacting your financial aid office at your school. they should be able to help you.

Answer 12

There's a lot of misinformation going on here, let me try to set the record straight.

There are two classifications of undergraduate students for federal financial aid purposes, dependent and independent.

Being dependent (or independent) has NOTHING to do with whether you pay your own taxes, whether you have a job, whether you live on your own, whether you pay more than half of your bills, and get this - it has nothing to do with whether your parents give you ANY MONEY at all.

There is a legal concept known as "emancipation" - that's when someone who has not yet reached the age of majority is still treated like an adult because they have achieved financial independence from their parents. I think that's the cause of some of the confusion - but emancipation has NOTHING to do with whether you are classified as an independent or a dependent student.

In writing the laws that govern the federal financial aid program (Title IV), Congress explicitly define the criteria that determines when a student is independent. There are no variations or exceptions - this is the legal definition of dependency for federal financial aid purposes.

To be classified as an independent student you must be able to answer "yes" to at least one of the following questions:

Were you born before January 1, 1985?

Are you married? (if you are divorced, you're not married)

Do you have one or more children for whom you provide more than 50% of their support?

Do you provide more than 50% of the support for any other dependent who lives in your home?

Are you now, or were you, before the age of 18, a ward of the court?

Are you a veteran of the United States military?

Are you an active duty member of the United States military?

Remember - it does not matter if your parents give you a dime - it doesn't even matter if you know where they live, or whether you've even seen them in the last 11 years. If you can't answer yes to one of the questions above , you are a DEPENDENT student for federal financial aid purposes.

Here's why. Federal financial aid is taxpayer money. Quite simply, the government believes that YOUR parents have the primary responsibility to help you pay for school - not the taxpayers. If your parents CAN NOT afford to pay for your school, THEN the taxpayers step in. If your parents simply refuse to help you pay for school, then that's a problem between you and your parents. Why should the government let parents who could perfectly well contribute step aside and demand that the taxpayers fit the bill?

Because you are a DEPENDENT student, the Department of Education needs to evaluate your parents' ability to contribute to the cost of your education. If you do not provide that information, they will not evaluate your FAFSA form, they will not compute an Estimated Family Contribution (EFC), and your school will not be able to qualify you for federal financial aid.

If your parents have yet to file their 2007 tax forms, the FAFSA form allows you to ESTIMATE their income, using W-2s, 1099s, bank statements, and tax tables. You should file the FAFSA with the estimated information, but you must update your FAFSA later, when the final and accurate information does become available. It is always better to estimate and file on time, then it is to hold off on filing until the deadline is near (or passed), because on-time filers qualify for the maximum amount of financial aid eligibility.

If you can't get your father to understand his crucial role in establishing your financial aid eligibility, perhaps you can get someone from the financial aid office of your school to give him a call and explain the situation.

Please don't buy into the respondents here who are telling you that you can file as an independent - that is simply not true. You'll get your FAFSA form sent right back to you for corrections and you'll be in the exact same position - waiting for your dad's income information.

Good luck to you.