[Oasfaa] Head of Household

[Gale Langston]

I have a student that filed a separate return from her husband and they both filed head of household.  I have the 2010 returns because she was selected for verification, and the 2011 returns because I was considering a special condition.  All four returns show head of household.  When looking at IRS Pub 17 (instructions for completing the 1040), it states that head of household can be claimed for both husband and wife if they were separated on the last day of the tax year.  She has told me that she was separated the last day of 2010, that they got back together, and then were separated again on the last day of 2011.  They filed their own taxes, but said they consulted with a tax specialist who told her she was doing everything legal, etc., etc.  The FAFSA was completed on June 8, 2011 as a married status.  When they filed their returns, April 15, 2011 for 2010 returns and March 1, 2012 for 2011 returns, they used the same address.

When looking through the handbook and the references associated with it including RESOLVING CONFLICTING DATA 2009-10 FSA Handbook, School Eligibility & Operations, Chapter 10, 2010-11 FSA Handbook, AVG,
Chapter 5, pages 106-108<http://ifap.ed.gov/fsahandbook/attachments/1011AVGCh5.pdf>, 668.54(a)(3)<http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/get-cfr.cgi?TITLE=34&PART=668&SECTION=54&TYPE=TEXT>, 668.16(b)(3)<http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/get-cfr.cgi?TITLE=34&PART=668&SECTION=16&TYPE=TEXT>, 668.16(f)<http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/get-cfr.cgi?TITLE=34&PART=668&SECTION=16&TYPE=TEXT> it basically says we can accept a statement from the student explaining their

circumstances as documentation to resolve the conflict. I asked her to provide some legal documentation, but she said they weren't "legally" separated and have no such documentation. Any insight you could give me would be greatly appreciated.  Although possible, I am finding it hard to believe that they were conveniently separated at just the right time, both years, so they could both file Head of Household and that they have no documentation to back up their story.



One more twist to this story is that she received Pell at another school last semester. They obviously did not catch the fact that both were filing Head of Household and she received Pell based on those tax returns and a special condition they processed. Because of this, she doesn't understand why I am giving her such a hard time. Do you know if I am obligated to contact the previous school about their error so they can return Pell money?




Gale M. Langston
Director, Financial Aid
Redlands Community College
(405) 422-1442
(405) 422-1463 - fax


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Redlands Community College provides a learner-centered environment committed to academic excellence strengthened through service and civic engagement.
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