Why do programs asking for your income as a qualifying agent always ask for Gross instead of Net?

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I understand we get income taxes back, but if you don’t have a dependent you get a very small part of what you paid in. Last year, I paid $7k in taxes yet only got a little over $2k back. So when I fill out application for, let’s say college financial aid, they want me to count that $5k as if it was money that I had to spend. Why is this?

In: Economics