Another tax question. Am I still considered a full-time student?

Can I be considered an Independent Student?

• I have a complicated situation and I need some advice. My current situation is that I am a freshman in college, and will be a sophomore for the 2012-2013 school year. I live (have for all my life) and I go to school in NY state. My parents are divorced and my father pays my mother about $20,000 a year in child support for my sister and I, and maintenance (alimony) for my mother. My mother has custody of me, but I live on campus at my university and I don't have a room or a bed at her apartment. She doesn't pay for anything of mine, not clothing, supplies, food, or tuition/loans for school, and neither does my father. Also, I don't receive a dime of the child support she gets from my dad for me. Over the summer, my mother did kick me out of her residence and I stayed at my grandmother's, then my aunt's, and stayed with my dad for a while, but he continued to pay child support to my mom for me (I still didn't get any of it). My mom had, and still has, no job and lives solely off of my dad's support, maintanence, and unemployment money. I have been putting my mom's tax information on my FAFSA because she still has custody of me and I receive financial aid. I don't really "live" with her though, I live on my own at school and pay for ALL of my expenses. I have a federal work-study job, pay for school, books, etc. entirely on my own and I am getting a summer job to help out with my expenses as well. Therefore, I want to know if I can be considered an independent student so that I don't have to report my mom's income on my FAFSA. My dad is going to file a change in order of support so that he no longer has to pay my mom child support because he wants to help me become independent as well. My question is- will I then have to report my father and stepmother's income on my FAFSA or can I be considered independent? I am concerned about this because even though I won't be getting financial support from him, my dad makes about $80,000 a year, but he supports my stepmom, 2 step brothers, my sister, and pays my mom alimony. This is a very difficult situation for me and I don't know what to do. I get no support from either of my parents and I sit back and watch as my mother gets money handed to her that she's supposed to be using to support me, and yet she doesn't even work. I am struggling to get by. I am working and living on my own whilst supporting myself fully and paying for college. In addition, my mom lied on her taxes. She didn't claim the alimony she's getting and she claimed herself as a student at my university, saying that she was paying loan money (it's in my name and I pay it) and she is getting education credit and money back for this. I already filed out my FAFSA for the 2012-2013 school year using her information because I didn't know what else to do and the deadline is approaching. I believe I can still change it, though. My dad is filing for child support change within the next week, so I would like to know if I will be an independent student. Any advice would be great and very much appreciated. Thanks so much for reading!

• Answer:

  Unfortunately, you will need to continue to report your mom's income on your FAFSA, regardless of where you live until you are 25 or married. If you make over $3700 a year, you should be taking the education credit and not your mom, and filing taxes. She can be in deep trouble with the IRS if she commits tax fraud. I understand it is frustrating, but there are many students in this situation and worse. Some have parents that refuse to compete the FAFSA, which means that don't even have a chance at receiving any federal aid.