<p>i come from a relatively low-income family of six, so my parents' taxes have always been negligible. last year, however, my dad bought 2 rental properties (these are in addition to our house). my mom has no idea what her taxes will be this year, and she hasn't had a chance to figure anything out yet b/c she needs to do a lot of research. to make a long story short, we can estimate most of the stuff for css and fafsa based on 2004 taxes, but a lot of the 2005 info that is needed will look totally out line w/ 2004 if we just estimate it. it will be a mess when the colleges look at it. my mom has already sent in the fafsa, intending to amend it in february sometime when she has finished her taxes. can we do the same thing with the css, or is it permanent once you send it? if not, will colleges (particularly the one that is due on feb. 1st, georgetown, the reason we're doing this so early) look at these forms before, say, late february, and see that it makes no sense? do they even consider them at all before then?</p>
<p>sorry if that was a jumble, but we are REALLY confused--my mom is going crazy!</p>
<p>At this point, you are under the gun. Just get the forms in ASAP. As you already know, you will be able to correct the FAFSA once the taxes are done. Don't sweat it.</p>
<p>You can also amend the Profile. You will need to print out a copy, hand write the changes and send it to each school.</p>
<p>Tell you mom I sympathize with her! I was going crazy last week! Actually I am still going crazy. Husband met with the accountant today and yep, I made several errors.</p>
<p>oh wow i'm so glad to hear that you can amend it! </p>
<p>thanks, my mom will be glad to know she's not the only one. lol she's already fuming at georgetown b/c they want this stuff on february first. i have to agree, it is a little ridiculous. :o</p>
<p>I had a similar discrepancy - 2004 was a very strange year for me tax wise. (A good year for IRS at my expense, too). My daughter applied early action to a couple of schools, and of course they wanted 2004 returns as well as the CSS/Profile.</p>
<p>What I did was note this as a special circumstance on the CSS Profile - AND also noted it on a cover letter to the colleges when I sent additional paperwork (business & farm supplement, tax returns)</p>
<p>I was able to get a a reasonably good estimate of my 2005 income based on my records for the year -- and I simply guessed at taxes, taking a quick look at a tax table online. </p>
<p>I don't know whether my writing letters or making notes will do any good, but it makes me feel better. I won't worry much about it until after my daughter gets into colleges and we have some financial aid awards in hand -- then if something seems out of line I can always get on the phone and talk to someone at the financial aid office to sort out where they are drawing their numbers from.</p>