Got college kids- no stimulus $$

No $500. Have you got dorm & dining refund from your kid’s school? How about partial tuition refund? CV is really terrible for college families. Would you have your kid enroll fall if nobody knows if real classes with students on campus will take place?

 

Yes I have already gotten back the dining and residence hall refund plus student fees. There is no refund on tuition coming but I wouldn't expect it as she is getting full credit for the classes.

My daughter is still enrolled for next fall and registers for classes at the end of this week.

 

My daughter is to be a freshman in August at an upstate college in NY. We certainly hope she can start as scheduled. It would be terrible to start your freshman year sitting in your bedroom staring at a computer screen for $70,000 per year.

 

CS Fullerton announced yesterday they would be starting fall semester online.

 

Between my wife, my teen, and I, we got $170. I honestly couldn't find anywhere that said the child funds were effected by household income, only the $1200 (or $2400 joint) per adult, so I thought at least $400 would come our way. I would have given the $400 to her at the end of all this for her sacrifices ("re-connect with friends" fund).

Matt

 

Is there an income limit for receiving the $500 per child payment?

Yes, but the way it works is confusing. First of all, the $1,200 benefit for singles and $2,400 for married couple starts to phase out when your income is above:

• $75,000 for singles.
• $112,500 for those who file as head of household
• $150,000 for married couples who file jointly.

The benefit is reduced by 5 cents for every dollar you earn above those amounts.

The $500 per-child-credit will be tacked onto the check your family receives; you won’t get a separate payment for a dependent child under 17.

So if you’re married with one child and your adjusted gross income is $150,000, your family would get a single check for $2,900: $2,400 for you and your spouse, plus $500 for your child.

Now, let’s say you and your spouse make $151,000. Your credit will be $2,850. The 5 cents on the dollar phaseout isn’t happening separately for the $2,400 and the $500. It reduces the overall $2,900 payment.

But what if your income reaches $198,000? By this point, the $2,400 for you and your spouse has been completely eliminated by the phaseout. But you still have $500 worth of stimulus money headed your way because you have a child under 17.

OK, now suppose that your AGI was $199,000, not $198,000. That’s when it starts to cut into the $500 tax credit. Your family’s total stimulus payment will now be $450.

 

Not expecting anything, or at least anything meaningful. My daughter graduated from USC a year ago and is working, all good. My son is a sophomore at Wisconsin (could have done the Trojan transfer but USC was a cluster fuck at the time and he opted not to). We've been talking about potentially taking a gap year and working/traveling if classes are only offered online this fall; he was planning on doing a semester abroad in the spring anyway. I'm ok with that if he's getting good work experience in his career path.

 

That's going to be the problem in this economy, finding career-related job experience unless he's into Ag, Farming, or fast food. There are a whole senior class of grads whose job offers have been rescinded, juniors whose required internships have been canceled. If we go on too much longer, boomerang kids are going to be the new millennials.

 

My VP's daughter is on the LB State golf team. Same there--online only for the Fall, so basically it's a commuter school now. Not what she was hoping for...

 

My daughter is will be an incoming Freshman at a school here in Southern Cali. They haven’t made a decision yet on starting in person in August, or after the New Year. If she starts online, I would hope they either refund for the first semester, or take it off of the second semester. She’s excited to start school the traditional way, but she wants to be safe as well. Hope it works out smoothly for all of us.

 

I wouldn't count on that. If the student gets the credit, they are going to charge. Universities are saying it's costing a lot of money to turn in-person content to online instruction. Plus, they are providing some amount of funding for students who don't have devices or strong enough internet connection. Teachers are not getting a reduction in pay so parents aren't getting a break on tuition.

 

We're fortunate in this regard but you're 100% right for most.

 

So if you’re negative on the benefit calculation, does that mean you owe more taxes? Just asking for myself.

 

I was a little unclear. Was talking about R&B, as opposed to things like tuition. No problem paying for things that at all.

 

I received a check from my daughter's school yesterday (Wisconsin). They put her name on the check. Hah!

She is also already enrolled for next fall, and has an apartment lease. :(

 

Does he already have housing lined up for next Fall? My daughter is a freshman this year at Wisconsin, with a lease already set up. I suspect we'll be on hook for that even if classes are 100% remote.

 

We had an apartment arranged for June through December (with him expecting to study abroad the spring semester) but had not yet signed the lease. As it became clear the summer was iffy, we held off.

Was your daughter living in the dorms?

 

No.

It's a written contract, covid or no covid. If it's financially feasible, why not just let her live there even if classes are online? Either that or start advertising to sub-lease.

 

By the way its not just college kids. Anyone with a child under 17 by the end of last year qualifies. But if you had a high school student who was 17 or even 18, the $500 is not coming.

 

@trojan9999 Check the lease as to the consequences for bailing, they may not be that bad. But Veebs is right in that your daughter will likely want to be there for the social life if nothing else.