<p>I'm a high school senior and I don't know what any of this means. My college says the deadline to submit this is 2/1/13. I asked my dad when information for 2012 becomes available and he said he doesn't know... But I need it in the next couple of weeks. So.... when does that stuff get mailed?</p>
<p>He did say the word April though... Which is awkward.</p>
<p>You can submit a FAFSA with estimated numbers. If your parents work in jobs for salary, they can use their final 2012 pay stub for information. Using the 2011 tax return will help with additional numbers if big changes haven’t happened. It is important to encourage your parents to file their taxes early this year. A lot of people wait until April out of practice, but it is better to get the numbers in.</p>
<p>March 1st is typically the priority deadline for the next year’s FAFSA. The sooner you get it in the more money is available to be awarded. You can turn it it afterwards but the pool shrinks as more people turn theirs in. You can do your FAFSA with estimated numbers if you like, or wait until after Jan 31st when your family does the taxes and turn it in when they are done.</p>
<p>If the college deadline is 2/1, that means they want the FAFSA completed and submitted by that date. While it uses data from the tax return, that cannot always be filed by the time FAFSA is due - you will have to do the best you can, and estimate. You will have the opportunity to correct or update once your parents and you file your tax returns.</p>
<p>Due to delays for certain forms, many people will be unable to file their returns before 2/1, so don’t hesitate to estimate, you won’t be the only one.</p>
<p>All of this assumes the AMT patch is passed. Without it, many of us will owe a few thousand dollars more than anticipated AND filing will be delayed, possibly until March, as the IRS updates its forms. Even more confusing, the patch may not be passed until sometime in January, even though it is for the 2012 tax year.</p>
<p>AMT…</p>
<p>[Fiscal</a> cliff opens door to an AMT fiasco - MarketWatch](<a href=“http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-12-27/commentary/36020175_1_fiscal-cliff-tax-implications-h-r-block]Fiscal”>http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-12-27/commentary/36020175_1_fiscal-cliff-tax-implications-h-r-block)</p>
<p>File your FAFSA with estimated numbers before 2/1. Update your FAFSA as soon as you fil your taxes. It is very important that you do not wait until April to file. Here’s why:</p>
<ol>
<li>When you fill out the FAFSA with a “will file” status, you can get an estimated aid package, but you cannot get a confirmed package until you file.</li>
<li>If selected for verification, you do this by linking your FAFSA to the IRS files to pull in your income and tax numbers. You cannot do this until your taxes numbers are in the IRS system, a process that takes 2-3 weeks once you file. Wait until mid-April to file and you cannot verify until May. The decision deadline has passed, and you have had to make a decision without a confirmed financial aid package. NOT a good situation.</li>
</ol>
<p>2/1 is a bit rough because your father may need information coming from outside sources (employers, banks etc) that doesnt have to be provided until the end of January. I think I got a 1099-DIV in February last year.</p>
<p>Starting to fill in what you can now will be a big help. Also make sure that you let your father in on the process- misplacing tax documents for a couple of weeks would be a problem.</p>
<p>Most of the information needed to file taxes and the FAFSA is available online from banks, brokerage houses, etc. You can always call your financial planner for that information too. I have all of our estimated numbers plugged into Turbo Tax already. I signed up for PIN’s for everyone (Do that NOW it takes a couple days to validate those–on the FAFSA website). The FAFSA system will be up and running on 1/2/13. I plan to get my numbers in there because DD’s school hands out awards as they receive the FAFSA info on a first come/first serve basis. We aren’t expecting anything but but loans but who knows…</p>