Job application requiring parent's SSN and Tax Returns?

Factual Questions
21

I all the jobs tht I have applied for I have never been asked for my tax records, much less my parents. Some thing has an order here.

22

Thanks for the feedback all; glad I’m not the only one who thought something sounded squirrely there.

I talked to stepdaughter again yesterday asking for a contact and all she said was “Forget it, I probably wouldn’t have qualified anyway.” which sounds more like it was some kind of financial thing instead of a job application. She still won’t give me any details though so I’m not sure what was going on. If I ever find out I’ll let y’all know. Thanks again for the feedback.

23

I am a Financial Aid Administrator in Texas. If the daughter is 23, she would still be a dependent student in the eyes of The Department of Education.

This sounds like a workstudy job to me. Workstudy jobs are essentially federal financial aid awards awarded to students that show they have economic need, based on a big list of factors. Did the daughter fill out a FAFSA (free application for federal student aid)? If she did, this is most likely the verification process. One in three applications have to be verified, so they are going to look at the information.

If she hasn’t filled the FAFSA out yet and this is in fact a workstudy job or some other need based federally funded job, then she just needs the tax returns to fill out the actual applcation.

Next year she will just use her tax information alone, since 24 is the age where The Department of Education states that people are actually independent, regardless of present living situation.
ETA: If this is a workstudy job and she is needing to fill out a FAFSA, you as the parent will need to sign it too, so if this doesn’t turn out to be the situation, you may go up there and say, “Whats this for?”

24

Hmm… Interesting. That could be it. They would still need my info even though her biological parents are separated and she does not live with us? I suppose if they needed both parents information they would have to get mine as well since her mother and I file jointly.

Thanks. I’ll ask her if this is what is going on (then if so ask her why she didn’t just say so instead of getting all evasive when I asked about it).

ETA: I don’t know if she filled out a FAFSA form or not; as I said she lives with her father, not us. I never signed one anyway.