<prompt> Human: To apply for financial aid in the US one needs their parents tax information for a few years even after they have moved out without any parental help at all. As an 18 year old with abusive parents how can I become independent?My situation is difficult because I barely got my parents to file their taxes last year. I qualify for the full amount of financial aid possible as their dependent basically. I cant go through getting their tax information again or trying to get them to file so it isnt an option my mom seriously almost made it impossible for me to go to college because of this. The only viable options given to me are to either out my parents as abusive by gathering testimony or by joining the armed forces. It would be difficult for me to do either right now. The issue is that having a drug addict as a parent you can only hide so much and IF someone witnessed something that made them suspect I was in trouble they didnt do anything about it. If I ask people I suspect have witnessed my abuse and neglect I risk a lot including possible contact from my parents again if someone I reach out to tells them.As far as taxes go as well I dont want to give them any information as a dependent because they have already stolen large sums of money from me once before and I dont want to become vulnerable again in that way. Since I moved out May of last year I have received no support financially from them in any way. I dont know what to do any direction on how to proceed from here would be greatly appreciated.  <response>: In unusual circumstances, financial aid officers can override the need for parental info on FAFSA, but this requires them to use their judgment. You can imagine if it were easy to claim parents wont let you have their tax info a lot of people would abuse it. So you have to make your case. 