§ 663 — Income, a determinant of amount of awards

§ 663. Income, a determinant of amount of awards. 1. Income defined.\nExcept as otherwise provided in this section, "income" shall be the\ntotal of the combined net taxable income and income from pensions of New\nYork state, local governments, the federal government and any private\nemployer of the applicant, the applicant's spouse, and the applicant's\nparents, including any pension and annuity income excluded for purposes\nof taxation pursuant to paragraph three-a of subsection (c) of section\nsix hundred twelve of the tax law, as reported in New York state income\ntax returns for the calendar year coinciding with the tax year\nestablished by the U.S. department of education to qualify applicants\nfor federal student financial aid programs authorized by title IV of the\nHigher Education Act of 1965, as amended, for the school year in which\napplication for assistance is made, except that any amount received by\nan applicant as a scholarship at an educational institution or as a\nfellowship grant, including the value of contributed services and\naccommodations, shall not be included within the definition of "income"\nfor the purposes of this article. The term "parent" shall include birth\nparents, stepparents, adoptive parents and the spouse of an adoptive\nparent. Income, if not a whole dollar amount, shall be assumed to be\nequal to the next lowest whole dollar amount. Any change in the status\nof an applicant with regard to the persons responsible for the\napplicant's support occurring after the beginning of any semester shall\nnot be considered to change the applicant's award for that semester.\n 2. Separation of parents. If the parents of an applicant are living\napart, the income of the applicant shall be based upon the income of\nthat parent with whom the applicant is living; or who exercises custody\nif the applicant is a minor, or would exercise custody if the applicant\nwere a minor, and any appropriate payments for the support of the\napplicant from the other parent.\n 3. Exclusion of parental income in the determination of the amount of\nan award. a. In determining the amount of an award for students, the\nincome of the parents shall be excluded if the student has been\nemancipated from his parents.\n b. A student shall be considered emancipated if:\n (1) The applicant is a student who was married on or before December\nthirty-first of the calendar year prior to the beginning of the academic\nyear for which application is made or is an undergraduate student who\nhas reached the age of twenty-two on or before June thirtieth prior to\nthe academic year for which application is made and who, during the\ncalendar year next preceding the semester, quarter or term of attendance\nfor which application is made and at all times subsequent thereto up to\nand including the entire period for which application is made:\n (i) has not resided and will not reside with his or her parents for\nmore than six weeks; and\n (ii) has not and will not receive financial assistance or support\nvalued in excess of seven hundred fifty dollars from his or her parents;\nand\n (iii) has not and will not be claimed as a dependent by either parent\nfor purposes of either federal or state income tax; or\n (2) The applicant has reached the age of thirty-five on or before June\nthirtieth prior to the academic year for which application is made; or\n (3) The applicant was enlisted in full time active military service in\nthe armed forces of the United States and (i) has been honorably\ndischarged from such service, or (ii) has a qualifying condition, as\ndefined in section one of the veterans' services law, and has received a\ndischarge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, or\n(iii) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section one of the\nveterans' services law, and has received a discharge other than bad\nconduct or dishonorable from such service, and, provided, however, that\nthe applicant has not and will not be claimed as a dependent by either\nparent for purposes of either federal or state income tax.\n c. In making a determination of where a student resides for the\npurposes of item (i) of subparagraph one hereof, the president may\nconsider such criteria as he deems appropriate. Residence by the student\nin an apartment, building, or other premises owned by a parent shall be\nconsidered residence with that parent, for the purposes of this section,\neven if the student makes payment therefor in the form of rent or other\nconsiderations.\n d. Any undergraduate student who was allowed to exclude parental\nincome pursuant to the provisions of subdivision three of section six\nhundred three of this chapter as they existed prior to July first,\nnineteen hundred seventy-four may continue to exclude such income for so\nlong as he continues to comply with such provisions.\n e. In making a determination of whether a student has been claimed by\na parent as a dependent for purpose of either federal or state income\ntax, the president may require the student to submit a copy of that\nportion of the parents' federal income tax return which includes the\nparents' signature and the list of claimed dependents.\n 4. Relinquishing of parental control. In determining the amount of an\naward, the president may, in cases of unusual and exceptional family\ncircumstances warranting such action, recognize an existing condition\nwherein parental control has in effect been relinquished by the parents\nor others responsible for the applicant, and notwithstanding the\nprovisions of subdivision three of this section, the applicant has in\neffect been emancipated. Provided, however, that students who have\nqualified as an orphan, foster child, or ward of the court for the\npurposes of federal student financial aid programs authorized by Title\nIV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, shall not be\nconsidered emancipated for the purposes of determining an award pursuant\nto section six hundred sixty-seven of this article. The criteria used in\ndetermining these cases of unusual and exceptional family circumstances\nshall be established by the president with the approval of the board of\ntrustees and the director of the division of the budget.\n 5. Adjustments of income. In the determination of income for purposes\nof paragraphs a and b of subdivision three of section six hundred\nsixty-seven of this part if, during the academic year in which the\napplicant will receive an award, one of either the parents of the\napplicant or other dependent child of such parents, the spouse of the\napplicant, or one or more dependent children of the applicant, in\naddition to the applicant, will be in full-time attendance in an\napproved program, the combined net taxable income determined under\nsubdivision one of this section shall be reduced by three thousand\ndollars and an additional two thousand dollars for each other such\nperson additional to the aforesaid persons (including the applicant) who\nwill be in such attendance, and the resulting amount shall be deemed the\napplicable income in determining the applicant's award for the academic\nyear.\n 6. Income tax return not filed or not including income outside New\nYork state. If a person required to report income to the corporation did\nnot file an appropriate New York state income tax return, or if the\nreturn did not include income outside New York state, such person shall\nreport to the corporation what his income would have been had his total\nincome been subject to New York state income tax and had such income tax\nreturn been filed.\n 7. Statement of income. An applicant, the applicant's spouse, and the\napplicant's parents, if their income is included in "income" for\npurposes of this article, shall file annually with the corporation, in a\nmanner prescribed by the president, a statement of their income, signed\nand affirmed as true under penalties of perjury.\n 8. Verification of financial report. The state tax commission shall,\nupon request by the president, compare any statement filed with the\ncorporation pursuant to this article or any information derived\ntherefrom with the state income tax returns filed by the persons making\nsuch statement and shall report any discrepancies to the president.\n 9. Confidentiality of financial reports. All statements filed with the\ncorporation and all reports made by the state tax commission pursuant to\nthis section shall be deemed confidential.\n