20 U.S.C. § 1087vv : US Code - Section 1087VV: Definitions

Search 20 U.S.C. § 1087vv : US Code - Section 1087VV: Definitions

As used in this part:
(a) Total income
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the term "total income"
is equal to adjusted gross income plus untaxed income and benefits
for the preceding tax year minus excludable income (as defined in
subsection (e) of this section).
(2) No portion of any student financial assistance received from
any program by an individual, no portion of a national service
educational award or post-service benefit received by an individual
under title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 [42
U.S.C. 12511 et seq.], and no portion of any tax credit taken under
section 25A of title 26, shall be included as income or assets in
the computation of expected family contribution for any program
funded in whole or in part under this chapter.
(b) Untaxed income and benefits
The term "untaxed income and benefits" means -
(1) child support received;
(2) welfare benefits, including assistance under a State
program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security
Act [42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.] and aid to dependent children;
(3) workman's compensation;
(4) veterans' benefits such as death pension, dependency, and
indemnity compensation, but excluding veterans' education
benefits as defined in subsection (c) of this section;
(5) interest on tax-free bonds;
(6) housing, food, and other allowances (excluding rent
subsidies for low-income housing) for military, clergy, and
others (including cash payments and cash value of benefits);
(7) cash support or any money paid on the student's behalf,
except, for dependent students, funds provided by the student's
parents;
(8) the amount of earned income credit claimed for Federal
income tax purposes;
(9) untaxed portion of pensions;
(10) credit for Federal tax on special fuels;
(11) the amount of foreign income excluded for purposes of
Federal income taxes;
(12) untaxed social security benefits;
(13) payments to individual retirement accounts and Keogh
accounts excluded from income for Federal income tax purposes;
and
(14) any other untaxed income and benefits, such as Black Lung
Benefits, Refugee Assistance, railroad retirement benefits, or
benefits received through participation in employment and
training activities under title I of the Workforce Investment Act
of 1998 [29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.].
(c) Veteran and veterans' education benefits
(1) The term "veteran" means any individual who -
(A) has engaged in the active duty in the United States Army,
Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard; and
(B) was released under a condition other than dishonorable.
(2) The term "veterans' education benefits" means veterans'
benefits the student will receive during the award year, including
but not limited to the following:
(A) Title 10, chapter 2: Reserve Officer Training Corps
scholarship.
(B) Title 10, chapter 106: Selective Reserve.
(C) Title 10, chapter 107: Selective Reserve Educational
Assistance Program.
(D) Title 37, chapter 2: Reserve Officer Training Corps
Program.
(E) Title 38, chapter 30: Montgomery GI Bill - active duty.
(F) Title 38, chapter 31: vocational rehabilitation.
(G) Title 38, chapter 32: Post-Vietnam Era Veterans'
Educational Assistance Program.
(H) Title 38, chapter 35: Dependents Educational Assistance
Program.
(I) Public Law 97-376, section 156: Restored Entitlement
Program for Survivors (or Quayle benefits).
(J) Public Law 96-342, section 903: Educational Assistance
Pilot Program.
(d) Independent student
The term "independent", when used with respect to a student,
means any individual who -
(1) is 24 years of age or older by December 31 of the award
year;
(2) is an orphan or ward of the court or was a ward of the
court until the individual reached the age of 18;
(3) is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States (as
defined in subsection (c)(1) of this section);
(4) is a graduate or professional student;
(5) is a married individual;
(6) has legal dependents other than a spouse; or
(7) is a student for whom a financial aid administrator makes a
documented determination of independence by reason of other
unusual circumstances.
(e) Excludable income
The term "excludable income" means -
(1) any student financial assistance awarded based on need as
determined in accordance with the provisions of this part,
including any income earned from work under part C of subchapter
I of chapter 34 of title 42;
(2) any living allowance received by a participant in a program
established under the National and Community Service Act of 1990
[42 U.S.C. 12501 et seq.];
(3) child support payments made by the student or parent; and
(4) payments made and services provided under part E of title
IV of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.].
(f) Assets
(1) The term "assets" means cash on hand, including the amount in
checking and savings accounts, time deposits, money market funds,
trusts, stocks, bonds, other securities, mutual funds, tax
shelters, and the net value of real estate, income producing
property, and business and farm assets.
(2) With respect to determinations of need under this subchapter
and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42, other than
for subpart 4 of part A of this subchapter, the term "assets" shall
not include the net value of -
(A) the family's principal place of residence; or
(B) a family farm on which the family resides.
(g) Net assets
The term "net assets" means the current market value at the time
of application of the assets (as defined in subsection (f) of this
section), minus the outstanding liabilities or indebtedness against
the assets.
(h) Treatment of income taxes paid to other jurisdictions
(1) The tax on income paid to the Governments of the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, or the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or Palau
under the laws applicable to those jurisdictions, or the comparable
tax paid to the central government of a foreign country, shall be
treated as Federal income taxes.
(2) References in this part to title 26, Federal income tax
forms, and the Internal Revenue Service shall, for purposes of the
tax described in paragraph (1), be treated as references to the
corresponding laws, tax forms, and tax collection agencies of those
jurisdictions, respectively, subject to such adjustments as the
Secretary may provide by regulation.
(i) Current balance
The term "current balance of checking and savings accounts" does
not include any funds over which an individual is barred from
exercising discretion and control because of the actions of any
State in declaring a bank emergency due to the insolvency of a
private deposit insurance fund.
(j) Other financial assistance; tuition prepayment plans
(1) For purposes of determining a student's eligibility for funds
under this subchapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of
title 42, estimated financial assistance not received under this
subchapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42
shall include all scholarships, grants, loans, or other assistance
known to the institution at the time the determination of the
student's need is made, including veterans' education benefits as
defined in subsection (c) of this section, and national service
educational awards or post-service benefits under title I of the
National and Community Service Act of 1990 [42 U.S.C. 12511 et
seq.].
(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), for purposes of
determining a student's eligibility for funds under this subchapter
and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42, tuition
prepayment plans shall reduce the cost of attendance (as determined
under section 1087ll of this title) by the amount of the
prepayment, and shall not be considered estimated financial
assistance.
(B) If the institutional expense covered by the prepayment must
be part of the student's cost of attendance for accounting
purposes, the prepayment shall be considered estimated financial
assistance.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a tax credit taken under
section 25A of title 26 shall not be treated as estimated financial
assistance for purposes of section 1087kk(3) of this title.
(k) Dependents
(1) Except as otherwise provided, the term "dependent of the
parent" means the student, dependent children of the student's
parents, including those children who are deemed to be dependent
students when applying for aid under this subchapter and part C of
subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42, and other persons who live
with and receive more than one-half of their support from the
parent and will continue to receive more than half of their support
from the parent during the award year.
(2) Except as otherwise provided, the term "dependent of the
student" means the student's dependent children and other persons
(except the student's spouse) who live with and receive more than
one-half of their support from the student and will continue to
receive more than half of their support from the student during the
award year.
(l) Family size
(1) In determining family size in the case of a dependent student
-
(A) if the parents are not divorced or separated, family
members include the student's parents, and the dependents of the
student's parents including the student;
(B) if the parents are divorced or separated, family members
include the parent whose income is included in computing
available income and that parent's dependents, including the
student; and
(C) if the parents are divorced and the parent whose income is
so included is remarried, or if the parent was a widow or widower
who has remarried, family members also include, in addition to
those individuals referred to in subparagraph (B), the new spouse
and any dependents of the new spouse if that spouse's income is
included in determining the parents' adjusted available income.
(2) In determining family size in the case of an independent
student -
(A) family members include the student, the student's spouse,
and the dependents of the student; and
(B) if the student is divorced or separated, family members do
not include the spouse (or ex-spouse), but do include the student
and the student's dependents.
(m) Business assets
The term "business assets" means property that is used in the
operation of a trade or business, including real estate,
inventories, buildings, machinery, and other equipment, patents,
franchise rights, and copyrights.