4 ms·

> The point is you can't just give preference based on income as its incredibly easy to fudge. Okay, well this is the US. Your tax returns are a very good ind

> The point is you can't just give preference based on income as its incredibly easy to fudge. Okay, well this is the US. Your tax returns are a very good indication of how much money you make. If you lie on your tax returns then you have much bigger issues than college admissions counselors.

vlovich123 4y ago
I think you’re missing the point. The really wealthy can just stop receiving income and have enough to draw on from their accumulated wealth. You can start looking at net assets but it’s a cat and mouse game against lots of very well resourced opponents.
- 77pt77 4y ago
  > You can start looking at net assets When I applied for grad school many admission documents explicitly asked about this, even outside the realm of financial assistance.
pclmulqdq 4y ago
Taking a $0 salary for a few years is feasible for most rich people. That's why the FAFSA (financial aid form) also asks about assets.
- jefftk 4y ago
  And the CSS profile, like FAFSA but for fancier schools, is even more exhaustive.
- tyoma 4y ago
  Or they could just have their kid “adopted” by a friend and avoid having to list parents income: https://www.propublica.org/article/university-of-illinois-financial-aid-fafsa-parents-guardianship-children-students https://www.propublica.org/article/university-of-illinois-fi...
djbusby 4y ago
If your family has $10MM in the bank, you too can take (and report) to IRS zero income.
- flangola7 4y ago
  In the US parents' income is already considered when applying for financial aid. Just add that info to admissions
  - lordnacho 4y ago
    Does this mean you can not work for a couple of years to make it easy to get in, plus get a discount on the fee?
    - selectodude 4y ago
      No, assets are taken into consideration for that exact reason.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- sklargh 4y ago
  Assuming US due to agency choice. What about a 1099-INT? Surely even trivial interest earnings on 10mm would trigger this? Moreover I'd expect that any given user w/10mm would be rolling into multiple accounts to maximize protection offered by FDIC.
  - pjscott 4y ago
    If you put the money mostly into bonds or stocks that don't issue significant dividends, you'll pretty much just have to worry about capital gains (form 1099-B), and those aren't taxed until the fiscal year in which they're realized.
wernercd 4y ago
"tax returns" and the OPs example was someone who had millions in the bank and took no "income" for years to fudge the tax return.
throw0101a 4y ago
> If you lie on your tax returns then you have much bigger issues than college admissions counselors. If you own a large amount of equities you can get a secured loan on those holdings and use it to pay your bills while taking zero salary. This allows folks to live fancy lifestyles without selling holdings and triggering capital gains: * https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/13/portfolio-loans-can-be-one-way-to-make-debt-work-in-your-favor.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/13/portfolio-loans-can-be-one-w... The loan is not counted as income.
- WalterBright 4y ago
  At some point the loan gets paid, and then the income taxes apply.
foobiekr 4y ago
Deferred compensation plans allow you to strategically create a low w2 income for awhile and are mostly available to high earners.

vlovich123 4y ago

I think you’re missing the point. The really wealthy can just stop receiving income and have enough to draw on from their accumulated wealth. You can start looking at net assets but it’s a cat and mouse game against lots of very well resourced opponents.

77pt77 4y ago
> You can start looking at net assets When I applied for grad school many admission documents explicitly asked about this, even outside the realm of financial assistance.

pclmulqdq 4y ago

Taking a $0 salary for a few years is feasible for most rich people. That's why the FAFSA (financial aid form) also asks about assets.

jefftk 4y ago
And the CSS profile, like FAFSA but for fancier schools, is even more exhaustive.
tyoma 4y ago
Or they could just have their kid “adopted” by a friend and avoid having to list parents income: https://www.propublica.org/article/university-of-illinois-financial-aid-fafsa-parents-guardianship-children-students https://www.propublica.org/article/university-of-illinois-fi...

djbusby 4y ago

If your family has $10MM in the bank, you too can take (and report) to IRS zero income.

flangola7 4y ago
In the US parents' income is already considered when applying for financial aid. Just add that info to admissions
- lordnacho 4y ago
  Does this mean you can not work for a couple of years to make it easy to get in, plus get a discount on the fee?
  - selectodude 4y ago
    No, assets are taken into consideration for that exact reason.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
sklargh 4y ago
Assuming US due to agency choice. What about a 1099-INT? Surely even trivial interest earnings on 10mm would trigger this? Moreover I'd expect that any given user w/10mm would be rolling into multiple accounts to maximize protection offered by FDIC.
- pjscott 4y ago
  If you put the money mostly into bonds or stocks that don't issue significant dividends, you'll pretty much just have to worry about capital gains (form 1099-B), and those aren't taxed until the fiscal year in which they're realized.

wernercd 4y ago

"tax returns" and the OPs example was someone who had millions in the bank and took no "income" for years to fudge the tax return.

throw0101a 4y ago

> If you lie on your tax returns then you have much bigger issues than college admissions counselors. If you own a large amount of equities you can get a secured loan on those holdings and use it to pay your bills while taking zero salary. This allows folks to live fancy lifestyles without selling holdings and triggering capital gains: * https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/13/portfolio-loans-can-be-one-way-to-make-debt-work-in-your-favor.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/13/portfolio-loans-can-be-one-w... The loan is not counted as income.

WalterBright 4y ago
At some point the loan gets paid, and then the income taxes apply.

foobiekr 4y ago

Deferred compensation plans allow you to strategically create a low w2 income for awhile and are mostly available to high earners.