Taxes/Financial aid ( unemancipated college student & dancing )
I will be a college freshman this fall. I have a few fiscal questions about stripping.
Will it impact my financial aid if I'm still listed as a dependent on the FAFSA?
Do I have to pay taxes on the money? Some sources say yes, some say no.
I heard I need a 1099, like an independent contractor, so what should I list for my profession? Is it illegal to put something like "waitress" down instead of "stripper"?
Can people go back and see that I was a stripper once? Will it impact future employability? I don't want future employers ever finding out.
Re: Taxes/Financial aid ( unemancipated college student & dancing )
To answer your question about listing your occupation specifically:
I have always used "model" and "entertainer" (since I modeled a bit and otherwise stripping falls under the entertainer category). I do this because I don't want my type of work to be obvious to people who have no reason to know about it (if a grad program asked, I would tell, but if it wasn't relevant I don't want it out there in case it biases someone against me for something irrelevant). Unfortunately, this job still has a stigma, so I'd rather that stigma be harder to find out than just looking a couple things up.
As Melonie says, some clubs give you 1099's, and some will give you paychecks (some clubs pay minimum wage as a way to treat you like an employee rather than an IC, thus avoiding certain lawsuits), which will make your occupation easier to figure out, but again, "Entertainer" should be acceptable.
It really blew my mind that people thought I was making six figures when I was working and going to school. I worked 1-3 days a week (depending on homework). At my lowest work rate I made 19000 one year (luckily I had savings because I knew that school year would be intense). I worried that the IRA may see "stripper", a relatively low income (due to not working much), and think that's suspicious. I prefer to avoid that by avoiding being overly specific about my job.
Re: Taxes/Financial aid ( unemancipated college student & dancing )
Ask for a "dependency override" form from fafsa or your college adviser. If not, you will need your parent's info until you turn 23.
If youre a legally emancipated minor, they don't need your parents info, but you must have proof.