Currently, I am unemployed and have never held a job.
My FAFSA and CSS Profile reflect this, and I have already submitted them.
If I were to get a job, I would have to pay taxes.
Would I then have to edit my FAFSA and CSS to reflect this, or does it not matter because I’ve already submitted them?
The forms you filled out for 2018/19 school year are based on income from 2016.
If you get a job now, you might get one or two paychecks in 2017.
The income from 2017 would be reported on FAFSA and CSS profile for school year 2019/2020.
For FAFSA you can earn at least $6000 before it affects the EFC.
It might be good to work and have some spending money. For someone that can be claimed as a dependent on parent tax return, usually they can earn around $6300 before federal taxes are due.
For FAFSA, no. You do not resubmit because your prior-prior year income will not change. The Profile asks about a three year window (currently 2016, 2017, and 2018). That one would need to be updated if you are making enough money to affect your financial circumstances.
Now, even if you haven’t had a job, most Profile schools will assume you are getting one and will have a minimum student contribution anyway. If you are making about what they expect, you probably don’t need to report anything. Check with your financial aid office.
How do I edit my CSS?
I went back to it and there isn’t any option for me to edit anything.
You cannot edit a CSS. You can only update the school financial aid offices individually.
I am planning to get a seasonal part time job that would last less than a month. Do you think it would be necessary to notify the school?
Are you asking about notifying the school regarding your financial aid forms that have already been submitted? If so, then NO. The financial aid forms for academic year 2018-2019 are based on income earned in 2016 and whatever assets you have on hand as of the day that the forms were completed. A job you have in the future will have zero impact on these numbers.
I know that is true for the FAFSA but the CSS asks for projected 2017 and 2018 as well, so I was wondering if I should notify the schools.
I would say no. The estimates are your best guesses as of the date that you complete the form. If applicants were expected to update those estimates every time something changed, the administrative burden would be insane.
I updated the CSS (by contacting the schools) for my daughters when I found out about accounts in my Ds’ names – a few thousand dollars my grandmother had put away years ago and forgotten about. Both FA offices told me to email the details, but not to worry about the current application as we’d used our best info at the time. Not exactly the same situation but makes me agree with @BelknapPoint .