lovestruck Posted June 15, 2013 Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 Just looking over my OSAP application and realized I made a blunder. For my 2012 income, I listed only my actual taxable income which I made off a part-time job. I was a graduate student and had a scholarship that paid me $17000 for the year but I did not list this as I went off my government tax return forms, which only had my actual job income. Comes to ~$2000 However, for the Jan 2013-August 2013 section, I listed both my job, TAing (I started TAing winter semester) AND my scholarship in there. When I was calculating this, I used my bank statements and it had the scholarship on there. So my total there is ~$15000. Of that, only $8000 is actual "income" while the rest is my government scholarship. Which way is correct? Do I list my scholarship in my 2012 income? I'll be calling OSAP Monday to confirm. But I'm concerned when they do the "income verification" they will see the discrepancy and make me not qualify for OSAP! I read the warning on the site that misrepresenting income can cause you not to get OSAP. This was my first time doing this and it was an honest mistake. Anyone have any insight? I'm freaking out about it quite a bit! ETA: Answered my own question. Scholarship would be considered income, so my 2012 income is actually $20000 NOT $2000!! If I call my financial aid office and explain the error (they can see the amount I stated matches my tax return exactly) will they be able to adjust my application with no penalties? It was a stupid mistake but I've caught it and want to change it now! I've already submitted signature pages, etc but have not heard anything back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
champ Posted June 15, 2013 Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 Just looking over my OSAP application and realized I made a blunder. For my 2012 income, I listed only my actual taxable income which I made off a part-time job. I was a graduate student and had a scholarship that paid me $17000 for the year but I did not list this as I went off my government tax return forms, which only had my actual job income. Comes to ~$2000 However, for the Jan 2013-August 2013 section, I listed both my job, TAing (I started TAing winter semester) AND my scholarship in there. When I was calculating this, I used my bank statements and it had the scholarship on there. So my total there is ~$15000. Of that, only $8000 is actual "income" while the rest is my government scholarship. Which way is correct? Do I list my scholarship in my 2012 income? I'll be calling OSAP Monday to confirm. But I'm concerned when they do the "income verification" they will see the discrepancy and make me not qualify for OSAP! I read the warning on the site that misrepresenting income can cause you not to get OSAP. This was my first time doing this and it was an honest mistake. Anyone have any insight? I'm freaking out about it quite a bit! ETA: Answered my own question. Scholarship would be considered income, so my 2012 income is actually $20000 NOT $2000!! If I call my financial aid office and explain the error (they can see the amount I stated matches my tax return exactly) will they be able to adjust my application with no penalties? It was a stupid mistake but I've caught it and want to change it now! I've already submitted signature pages, etc but have not heard anything back! Yeah I made an error in my first year as well.. They were ok with it. Just took a long time to get a re assessment. When they eventually wrote me back...they told me I am no longer eligible for OSAP for the year.. I hate to say it but an income of 20 k last year will really crush your OSAP pay out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestruck Posted June 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 Yeah I made an error in my first year as well.. They were ok with it. Just took a long time to get a re assessment. When they eventually wrote me back...they told me I am no longer eligible for OSAP for the year.. I hate to say it but an income of 20 k last year will really crush your OSAP pay out Really??? In the estimator, I put this [http://i.imgur.com/M8ArqmR.jpg] and the amount it gave me was $14000 [http://i.imgur.com/5yznJNO.jpg]. Could that be incorrect? I made $20000 in 2012 and $25000 in 2013 but I've been out of high school for 4+ years and have only $1000 in savings and no other assets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NutritionRunner Posted June 15, 2013 Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 I've always had to list my scholarships when completing my income tax forms - I've always received a T-something for them, so had to declare them when doing my taxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invincible110 Posted June 15, 2013 Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 But scholarships are not considered taxable income. Does OSAP use total income or just taxable income? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted June 15, 2013 Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 They are pretty blunt in their definitions: Gross Income Note: This definition is specific to the OSAP Application for Full-Time Students You must provide all taxable and non-taxable income from all sources, world-wide (except if it is an income item from the list of Income - Not to be Reported in your OSAP Application provided below). For example, you must include employment, child-support and alimony payments, monetary gifts, lottery winnings, and government benefits, Extended Care and Maintenance Payments, cashed-in RRSPs, cashed-in RESPs, withdrawals from retirement accounts, withdrawals from trust accounts, income received as a result of a joint election to split pension income, the amount of non-economic loss and/or pain and suffering awards in excess of $100,000, and any other income (e.g., awards, scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, grants, interest, investments, and/or trust fund income). All income is verified with Canada Revenue Agency. The ministry may also contact any of the government bodies that administer income support in order to verify income. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted June 15, 2013 Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 oh and exclusions: GST Rebates, Child Tax Benefit, Universal Child Care Benefit, Ontario Child Benefit, Ontario Child Benefit Equivalent Savings Program, Rental Opportunity for Ontario Families (ROOF), OSAP funding, including: student loans, Queen Elizabeth II Aiming for the Top Scholarships, Canada Student Grants, Ontario Access Grants, Ontario Access Grant for Crown Wards, Ontario Student Opportunity Grants, Distance Grants, Textbook and Technology Grants, and Transition Grants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchEnemy Posted June 15, 2013 Report Share Posted June 15, 2013 Would NSERC-USRA be classified as income for OSAP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jski12 Posted June 16, 2013 Report Share Posted June 16, 2013 For the gross income for 2012, the instructions in the OSAP form say to use the amount from line 150 of your 2012 income tax return. This line doesn't include my graduate scholarship money, so I didn't include it. Did they want us to add that scholarship income to the income from line 150? I'm a little worried right now. I'll have to contact the financial aid office to inquire about this further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindsight Posted June 16, 2013 Report Share Posted June 16, 2013 They are pretty blunt in their definitions: I agree that the definitions are pretty blunt, but I think I made the same mistake as OP. It's straightforward for 2013, but not for the previous year. For the 2012 income portion, it says to put the number from line xxx from your 2012 tax returns. So that's what I put. Because even though is in section for gross income, they are looking at CRA numbers and they asked for a specific line from my return. Except that's only my taxable income. So it's confusing! For 2013 though, it asks you to estimate your income, so for that I obviously included all scholarships as well. Should I be writing to OSAP to change this information? Or should I call them first? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovestruck Posted June 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2013 I've called OSAP before and they will direct you to your university financial aid office so I'd call them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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