FAFSA changes - make multiple or wait until the final?

Paying for College
1

My son’s FAFSA was due before we got our W2s.

We have our W2s now, but have not finished our taxes yet.

The question is, should we submit a modified FAFSA based on the W2s now, or wait at least a month to submit a FAFSA autofilled from the IRS based on our 2014 taxes?

We are confused about when a college really uses the FAFSA, do they actually look at changes that they are notified of (they are notified I hope!) or do they ignore them until a certain date?

Would there be any problem to just submit a change now and then in April?

We are very concerned as we really don’t have time to do the taxes unless we are forced to, and the school seems to indicate we should have done them before we submitted the FAFSA.

2

Submit the changes now, and then update again in April. That won’t be a problem for the schools.

Be aware, though, that it may be a problem for your student. If he or she is relying on financial aid awards to help make a final decision as to which school to attend, a belated change to your financial data could result in a belated change to those awards. That means your student could end up having to make a final decision without having a confirmed financial aid award.