| AwardYear: 1997-1998 Edition: PostSecondary Part: 3 - - Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid SectionNumber: SectionTitle: Simplified Needs Test PageNumbers: 74 Simplified Needs Test Purpose: Page 7 of the instructions to the FAFSA includes worksheets A and B, which are used to determine if a student needs to fill out the information in Section G. The primary purpose of the "Simplified Needs Test" is to shorten the application process for some students. Basically, a dependent student does not have to fill out the asset information in Section G if the parents' income was less than $50,000 and the student and his or her parents were not required to use the IRS Form 1040 to file taxes. An independent student qualifies for the Simplified Needs Test and does not have to complete Section G when a student's (or a married couple's) income is less than $50,000 and the student (and spouse) are not required to file an IRS Form 1040. Independent students fill out Worksheet A; dependent students fill out Worksheet B. Question 1 on each worksheet asks whether the student, the student's spouse, or, for a dependent student, the student's parent was required to complete the 1040. If any one of these people was required to complete the 1040 (for example, to report business income), the student does not need to fill out the rest of the worksheet and must complete Section G. However, if the student, spouse, or parent completed the 1040 but could have filed the 1040A or 1040EZ (for example, if he or she filed through a tax preparer that only uses the 1040), the student must complete the rest of the worksheet to determine if he or she qualifies for the Simplified Needs Test. Questions 2 and 3 on the worksheets ask for the income used to determine whether the student qualifies for the Simplified Needs Test. Tax filers complete Question 2; non-tax filers complete Question 3. These questions list the question numbers for information that should be copied from Section F. If the amount reported in Question 2 or 3 is $50,000 or more, the student must complete Section G (and the rest of the form). The Simplified Needs Test will usually increase a student's eligibility for federal student aid programs because it does not include family assets. However, a student who qualifies for the Simplified Needs Test might need to complete Section G if he or she wants to be considered for certain types of nonfederal student financial aid from the postsecondary school he or she will be attending, the state in which he or she is a legal resident, or the state in which the postsecondary school is located. |