Start with the aid office's actual request
Save the recipient's form and instructions. Record the academic intake, whose finances must be included, income-year start and end, asset valuation date, currency, deadline and upload channel. For a UK or Canadian university, use that institution's request; do not substitute a US form.
CSS Profile asks about family income, assets and expenses. Its preparation list includes tax returns, current-year income, untaxed income or benefits, assets and bank statements. For international IDOC submissions, College Board asks for home-country tax documents and English translations of non-English material. If a parent is not required to file a return, its guidance calls for a non-filer statement and wage evidence.
FAFSA is for US citizens and eligible non-citizens, including eligible US nationals; an Indian family is not automatically a FAFSA applicant. The student's eligibility is the starting point. CSS Profile is a separate institutional-aid application. Check whether the university accepts it for international applicants.
Map each requested figure to an Indian record
This is a preparation crosswalk, not a universal university checklist. Use only the categories the recipient requests, and retain the source of each number.
| Requested information | Indian records to prepare | Reconciliation point |
|---|---|---|
| Total income and income tax | ITR, acknowledgement and computation | Taxable income may differ from the form's gross-income definition |
| Employment income | Form 16 for the requested historical year, payslips and employer statement | Reconcile gross salary, deductions and net pay |
| Rent, interest and dividends | Lease/rent ledger, interest certificate, dividend and bank records | Split the sources; bank credits may be after tax |
| Cash, bank balances and FDs | Savings statements and deposit certificates | Use the requested date; avoid counting an FD twice |
| Property and related debt | Ownership papers, valuation evidence and loan statement | State ownership share, valuation basis and debt separately |
| Business income and ownership | Accounts, tax computation, ownership and loan records | Separate turnover, profit, drawings and household ownership |
| Other investments or benefits | Holding statements and payment evidence | Include requested items even if absent from taxable income |
Keep family members' schedules separate before combining them. Do not silently treat a property estimate as a bank balance.
Match the period first, then the currency
| Label on the request | How to handle Indian records |
|---|---|
| Indian FY 2025-26 | Income from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026; return labelled AY 2026-27 |
| Calendar-year income | Rebuild the stated January-to-December period from monthly records spanning two Indian financial years |
| Academic aid year | Read the income-year instruction separately; the intake year is not the income period |
| Assets on a specified date | Obtain balances and valuations for that date, separately from annual income |
If the request uses a different country's tax year, ask the aid office which Indian period it accepts. Do not relabel an ITR or select an assessment year merely because its number resembles the academic year.
CSS Profile accepts home currency and performs its own conversion. If a university separately requests USD, GBP or CAD, record its required exchange-rate source and date, show the INR original and state whether the rate is INR per unit of foreign currency. Divide INR by that rate. Keep historical income and point-in-time asset conversions distinct where its instructions require them.
What a CA can support, and what the family must declare
| Responsibility | What belongs there |
|---|---|
| CA's defined engagement | Reconcile records, explain the period and currency method, and report or certify supported figures within the agreed scope |
| Family's declaration | Identify household members, ownership, support arrangements, unrecorded receipts and all requested assets and liabilities |
| Aid office's decision | Specify acceptable evidence and determine aid eligibility and the award |
A CA's signature does not turn a family's estimate into independently verified market value. Identify any property valuer's report, its date and the reliance placed on it. Label unsupported family statements as declarations and obtain the recipient's instructions for them.
Give the CA the recipient's wording before commissioning a certificate. The statement should name its purpose, records examined, period, currency basis and limits. Do not ask the CA to certify future support, completeness beyond the work performed, or a university's eventual decision.
A worked example: Asha's Ahmedabad family pack
Fictional example, not a CSS template. Asha's university explicitly asks for FY 2025-26 gross family income and assets on 31 March 2026, in INR.
| Schedule | Supported amount |
|---|---|
| Parent's gross salary | Rs 12,00,000 |
| Gross rent | Rs 2,40,000 |
| Deposit interest | Rs 60,000 |
| Total income before tax | Rs 15,00,000 |
| Savings plus separate FDs | Rs 2,00,000 + Rs 8,00,000 = Rs 10,00,000 |
| Family property, full ownership assumed | Valuation Rs 60,00,000; loan Rs 15,00,000; equity Rs 45,00,000 |
The pack contains the request, ITR and computation, Form 16 and payslips, rent and interest records, dated bank/FD statements, valuation and loan evidence, and a signed family declaration. Rs 10 lakh deposits plus Rs 45 lakh property equity is Rs 55 lakh for these illustrated assets; it is not an aid formula or spendable cash.
If a separate recipient instead prescribes an illustrative Rs 100 per USD, Rs 15 lakh converts to USD 15,000. That rate is invented for the arithmetic. CSS applicants follow CSS currency instructions, not this conversion example.
Financial-aid evidence is different from visa or sponsor proof
| Request in front of you | Relevant next page |
|---|---|
| Visa evidence that study can be funded | Student visa proof of funds |
| A sponsor's funding commitment | University sponsor letter |
| A certified foreign-currency schedule | Currency statement certification |
| Evidence for the education lender | Study-abroad loan certificate |
For aid, respond to the household assessment request even if you already hold a visa solvency certificate. Keep the submission, supporting schedules and any explanations together so you can answer a follow-up without changing the basis of the original figures.