<p>My parents are being very .. slow with the tax returns this year.. I only have a draft copy of the tax returns that my parents are going to file, and it isn't signed. However, I need to send the 1040 over to Financial Aid offices in order to, you know, receive award letters..</p>
<p>Also, I need to correct the numbers that are projected in the CSS/FAFSA.. arrgh.. so much to do! HELP!!</p>
<p>Just send the latest year's filed tax return, which is 2003. That is all you can do.</p>
<p>Well, see the thing is, I sent my FinAid CSS Profile and FAFSA to Notre Dame (I was accepted early), so I thought I'd be getting an award letter or something, but I figured I had to turn in my documentation.. so... it said 2004 forms..</p>
<p>You need to emphasize this to your PARENTS. Show them the info from Notre Dame that gives deadlines for finaid info receipt. If the finaid folks want 2004 returns (and they probably will before an award is determined) you need to show your parents this information and ask their assistance. To be quite frank...there is nothing we (the folks on this board) can do to hurry your parents along...</p>
<p>Well, they do have a draft. Should I just encourage them to send the 2004 tax return that they have drafted and finalize that?</p>
<p>An unsigned 2004 return will likely just be a waste of postage and effort. </p>
<p>I don't know for sure, but ND is probably like most large, well-endowed privates that have to have rules and procedures to uniformly process a large amount of data and generate decisions according to a schedule. An unsigned return does not let you proceed to the next bureaucratic step.</p>
<p>ND has budgeted $XXXXXX dollars to give away, of its own money as well as set amounts of federal and state money, and every day your file is incomplete awards are being made to those students whose files are complete. For example, once all the allotted Pell and SEOG federal money is awarded for that year, there is no more to give away. You might or might not qualify for this type of aid, but unless you know for sure you should be concerned that delay may have a heavy cost.</p>
<p>Tax returns for families of financial aid applicants are effectively due in early February, right after the W-2s and 1099s go out at the end of January.</p>
<p>I will get the forms signed ASAP. In the meantime, the data for 2004 CSS Profile Info is different from actual numbers (because the 2004 #s were just estimates). Do I have to send in a revised copy on paper of the CSS Profile or can they just update the data from the 2004 1040 itself?</p>
<p>// EDIT: I was just informed that the 2004 1040 will be ready to send off (and signed) by March 1st. Is this too late? //</p>