Residence for Tuition Purposes: Financial Independence

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A student is considered financially independent when one or more of the following applies:

1. the student is at least 24 years of age by December 31 of the calendar year for which resident classification is requested
2. the student is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces
3. the student is a ward of the court or both parents are deceased
4. the student has legal dependents other than a spouse
5. the student is married or has a registered domestic partner, or is a graduate or professional student, and was not claimed as an income tax deduction by parents or any other individual for the tax year immediately preceding the term for which resident classification is requested
6. undergraduate students: the student is an unmarried undergraduate student and was not claimed as an income tax deduction by parents or any other individual for the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which resident classification is requested, and can demonstrate self-sufficiency for those two years and the current year
7. graduate students: the student is a graduate student instructor, graduate student teaching assistant, research assistant, junior specialist, post-graduate researcher, graduate student researcher, or teaching associate who is employed 49 percent or more of full time or awarded the equivalent in University administered funds (e.g., grants, stipends, or fellowships) in the term for which classification is sought
8. the student reached the age of 18 in California while his or her parents were residents of California, and the parents left the state to establish a residence elsewhere while the student continued to be a resident of California after the parents' departure

Verifying Financial Independence

To verify financial independence (self-support) per item 6 above, the student must document his or her income and verify that he or she was not claimed as an exemption by parents or anyone else for the two years prior to the request for residence. The student is also required to present a budget showing how he or she is able to be supported by the funds claimed. Self-support is defined as money the student has earned through his or her own employment or loans obtained with the student's own credit, without a cosigner. A gift or loan to the student from a parent, grandparent, or other family member does not constitute self-support regardless of the terms.

Parent PLUS loans cannot be considered self-support.

Residing in California with an aunt, uncle, grandparent, or friend who provides the student with room and board cannot be considered self-support, even if that person meets the UC residence requirement.

If the student's income is a trust account, the student must verify that the trust was not set up for the purpose of meeting the financial independence requirement. The student must also verify that he or she has complete control of the trust and that the trust has been in use to support the student. Copies of yearly beginning balances, withdrawals, deposits, and ending balances of the trust account(s) will be required.

Nonverifiable income cannot be considered.

Note: The financial independence requirement makes it extremely difficult for most undergraduate students whose parents are not California residents, including students from community colleges and other post-secondary institutions within California, to qualify for classification as a resident at the University of California. Transfer students who were classified as residents of California at their previous school should not assume that they will be classified as residents at UCLA.