D will be a sophomore. Should we submit the FAFSA asap then revise with accurate tax info? When we report assets for the FAFSA do we submit eoy totals or assets on date of submission? (Can we wait to pay off bills, pre-pay mortage, etc until we submit FAFSA or do we need to spend as much money before Jan 1st?)
Yes, you could do those.
Does your D’s school meet 100% need? I go to Duke, and because they have the institutional funds to meet 100% need, they ask returning students not to do FAFSA until April/May, after taxes have been filed and DRT is done. If your D’s school packages has limited funding or doesn’t meet 100% need (Perkins loans, work-study, SEOG funding), you may want to file as soon as possible, unless they have different driectiosn for returning students.
Assets will be a snapshot as of the day you submit FAFSA. Tax info can be updated later.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-08-03/html/2015-18991.htm
Asset protection allowance goes by age of older parent and married or single.
For example our APA is $19,200 so since we don’t have anywhere close to that in the bank, it doesn’t matter when we submit FAFSA as far as our assets are concerned.
But our D does not have an asset protection allowance so she should buy things she was planning to buy before FAFSA submission.
@mommdc: “when you say assets will be a snapshot of the day you submit FAFSA” — is this self-reported or does FAFSA staff actually verify bank balances on that exact day? just curious . . .
Fafsa does not verify, but any individual school can ask for anything it wants, and some have asked for bank records, paystubs, taxes, etc. Mostly you are self reporting. Just be nonest.