Hi. I hope this belongs here.
So when I was 14 years old, I took a job working under the table at a local fruit stand. I was pretty financially illiterate (and I still am) so I had no idea that I wasn’t supposed to be paid in cash until my Mom said so. But I mean, I was 14. It’s illegal to hire anyone under 15 in my state, so I figured I’d just stick with it. Worked there from 2016-2018.
Fast forward now. I’m 17 years old and applying to colleges (already applied technically) and I filled out and submitted the FASFA and CSS Profile a few months ago. My only income in 2017 was the job I worked under the table. I reported it, which now I understand was a mistake.
It was a measly $500 but now it says my FASFA has been put under review? I’m not really sure what that means. I used the IRS Retrieval thing for the FASFA if that counts for anything. Luckily, I got a signed letter from my employer stating that they paid me $500. But I had a couple of colleges email me about a missing W2 from the income that I reported, and I sent them that letter.
My mom went to college in the 70’s and doesn’t really understand any of this. I filled out the FASFA and CSS entirely on my own. My guidance department at my school knows nothing of financial aid or anything so I don’t really know who to ask. I’m really confused and if someone could help me that’d be amazing. So my questions are:
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Can I be legally punished for being paid under the table (as in be charged with tax evasion or something, since I technically didn’t pay any taxes?)
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Can my employer get in trouble? I didn’t mean to get anyone in trouble by reporting it, I just thought that I was being a good person
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What does my FASFA being put under review mean? Is it a bad thing that this happened?
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I put $500 down as an estimate, I’m not completely sure how much I made during 2017 because all I got was cash and I was 15/16 so I didn’t keep track
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Will any of this impact my financial aid status? Right now, they put my EFC at 4000. Will any of this effect it?
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What if a college doesn’t accept the signed letter from my employer? What do I do then?
Also I don’t really know if this goes against the legal discussion rule. I’m sorry if it does. Mods feel free to remove if it does.
Edit: I reported the wages on my FASFA/CSS Profile. I never filed any actual federal tax forms or paid any taxes. There’s a section on the FASFA and CSS to list an extraneous income, and that’s where I report it.
Submitted February 18, 2019 at 12:40AM by perhapsless http://bit.ly/2SXTjSE
