FAFSA and TAP have different rules for being an independent student. For Tap, students who are between 22 and 35 years old as of June 30 are considered independent if they meet all of the basic conditions listed below. If you are under 22 as of June 30th, you will need to meet all the basic conditions and have a special condition listed below to be considered independent.
Basic conditions. Basic conditions applicants must meet to be considered financially independent are:
- During the preceding year and during both calendar years of the current academic year (for example, 2014, 2015, and 2016 for the 2015-16 academic year), the applicant has not and will not reside with parents (or in a building or apartment owned or leased by the parents) for more than six weeks, even if applicants have paid rent to the parents.
- Applicants who have served on active duty with the U.S. Armed Forces or other National Volunteer Service will satisfy this requirement if they lived with their parents for no more than six months immediately after being discharged.
- During the preceding tax year-- on which an award is based-- and the following year (for example,2014 and 2015 for awards made for 2015-16 academic year) neither parent has nor will claim the applicant as a dependent for federal or state income tax purposes.
- During the preceding year and during both calendar years of the current academic year, the applicant has not received and will not receive financial assistance or support from parents in excess of $750, including gifts and loans.
- For applicants who are veterans and have been honorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces, only the basic condition relating to tax dependency is relevant. The basic conditions regarding residency with the parents and receiving financial assistance from the parents are, by law, not applicable.
Special Conditions. To be considered financially independent, certain applicants younger than 22 years old must satisfy at least one of the following conditions:
- Each parent is either deceased, totally or permanently disabled, or has been declared incompetent by judicial action.
- Applicant currently receives public assistance. Public assistance does not include food stamps, unemployment insurance, or aid as a dependent child under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program.
- Applicant is a ward of the court. Ward of the court does not include status as an inmate in a correctional facility.
- There has been an involuntary dissolution of the applicant's family, resulting in the relinquishment of parental responsibility and control.
- Applicant is a veteran and has been honorably discharged from the armed forces.
In most of the above situations, documentation confirming the student's claim of financial independence will be readily available. However, in some instances, students encounter difficulty in documenting the involuntary dissolution of the family. In these situations, the applicant's condition must be authenticated (sworn statement) by a reputable third party who has direct knowledge of the applicant's circumstances. Such a person might be a clergyman, a legal aid representative, or a social worker.
Claims of involuntary dissolution of the family are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Following, however, are several circumstances that would indicate involuntary dissolution.
- Parents do not reside in the United States or any of its possessions or protectorates, and parents are not citizens and do not provide any support to the student.
- Abandonment by the parents (i.e. parents' whereabouts unknown and lack of parental contact can be authenticated).
- Evidence of parents mentally and/or physically abusing the applicant.
The following conditions do not in and of themselves satisfy the special conditions for financial independence:
- The applicant is a veteran
- applicant's spouse older than 22 years
- applicant is incarcerated
- the applicant is self-supporting
