As a student, can I include my tuition, paid by my university, in my annual income?

[jackff]

I am a student with fellowship from my universtiy. My tuition fee is paid by the university as well. When I apply for credit cards, should my income be the amount of fellowship + tuition or just the amount of fellowship?

I included my tuition in all the credit card applications before because my friends said this should be fine when I applied for my first card and they do this too. Is this okay?

The fact that my universtiy is paying my tuition is explicitly stated in my offer letter, but only my fellowship is filed on my tax documents. If unfornately some day I receive a finacial review, will it be a trouble that the income on my tax forms is only half of the annual income I reported in my application? Can I show them my offer letter to explain this?

Thank you.

[Stralem]

...Tuition?

I highly doubt that's kosher. My tuition is $25k/yr. If I added that to my part-time work, I'd be "making" in excess of $50K. That'd be a hell of a discrepancy to explain.

I'd just stick to using your fellowship monies. Grant are OK too, in my opinion. Loans? Eh... Unless you're a grad student, I wouldn't chance it. Any aid you receive from your parents is also game.

[09Lexie]

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@jackff wrote:

I am a student with fellowship from my universtiy. My tuition fee is paid by the university as well. When I apply for credit cards, should my income be the amount of fellowship + tuition or just the amount of fellowship?

I included my tuition in all the credit card applications before because my friends said this should be fine when I applied for my first card and they do this too. Is this okay?

The fact that my universtiy is paying my tuition is explicitly stated in my offer letter, but only my fellowship is filed on my tax documents. If unfornately some day I receive a finacial review, will it be a trouble that the income on my tax forms is only half of the annual income I reported in my application? Can I show them my offer letter to explain this?

Thank you.

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No, you are not receiving the funds.  Tuition is being paid for you to the university.  

Your friends gave you bad advice. 

[jackff]

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@Stralem wrote:

...Tuition?

I highly doubt that's kosher. My tuition is $25k/yr. If I added that to my part-time work, I'd be "making" in excess of $50K. That'd be a hell of a discrepancy to explain.

I'd just stick to using your fellowship monies. Grant are OK too, in my opinion. Loans? Eh... Unless you're a grad student, I wouldn't chance it. Any aid you receive from your parents is also game.

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My tuition is $35k per year... Fortunately I haven't encountered any FR so far but I hope I can fix this potential trouble before it hurts me. Is there any possibility to change my income info? I guess this is reasonable as people might change or lose their jobs.

[jackff]

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@09Lexie wrote:

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@jackff wrote:

I am a student with fellowship from my universtiy. My tuition fee is paid by the university as well. When I apply for credit cards, should my income be the amount of fellowship + tuition or just the amount of fellowship?

I included my tuition in all the credit card applications before because my friends said this should be fine when I applied for my first card and they do this too. Is this okay?

The fact that my universtiy is paying my tuition is explicitly stated in my offer letter, but only my fellowship is filed on my tax documents. If unfornately some day I receive a finacial review, will it be a trouble that the income on my tax forms is only half of the annual income I reported in my application? Can I show them my offer letter to explain this?

Thank you.

---

No, you are not receiving the funds.  Tuition is being paid for you to the university.  

Your friends gave you bad advice. 

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Will this be a serious problem if I am involved in a FR? What can I do before this happens? Can I change my income info in the bank?

[Stralem]

Don't say anything.

Just use your cards responsibly and keep under the radar. If they don't say anything, there's no reason why you should start that unpleasant conversation.

Just be mindful with any future card apps.

[VirusCredit13]

I have a similar question, not for tution, but for a carloan. 

My dad purchased a car last year, but it was under my name. He pays for it completely but its my loan and its on my credit report. Prior car purchased for my mom was done this way as well, although we were both on that loan this time it's just me. Either way the loan is on my CR with $600 montly payment being reported. Am I allowed to add 12*$550 to my annual income just to offset that payment? I know I am never receiving that money, but it helps me to balance out DTI ratios. Its fairly basic to explain if asked, but I've been denied before for income to low compared to montly payments, and I figured that might help.