<p>Do you think it will hurt to wait until Feb. 15th to submit the FAFSA? I know we could complete it using last year's data and then update it later. I prefer to wait since our no. of dependents has changed and I'm hoping for more favorable results.</p>
<p>I thought you were supposed to use last year's data. I would be interested to know because I will make less money in 2008 than I did in 2007 due to some bonuses and child support ending in May this year. Anybody know?</p>
<p>musicmom,
I think what chelle meant about last year's data was her tax returns for 2006, not for 2007 which are not completed yet. She could not have been referring to 2008 as the year is just beginning. If your tax data is not yet done for the year 2007, you file with the previous year's data and update later (when your 2007 taxes are filed) as Chelle said. But I truly don't believe what you make in the year 2008 is taken into account. </p>
<p>Chelle, if you look at the deadlines for your D's schools and if Feb. 15 is given for the FAFSA to be submitted, there is no harm in waiting up until the deadline. You just have to get it in by the deadline. There is no advantage to getting it in earlier.</p>
<p>ok. I'm reading "last year" as 2007. Glad to know I have not been doing it wrong the past 3 years. LOL</p>
<p>It depends on whether the deadline means the date submitted to the feds or the date received by the school. The school at which my D auditioned this weekend said the March 1 deadline is when they need to receive it from the feds so we need to file it at least 2 weeks - and maybe more - before that. Many recommend submitting it by Feb 1 in order to make sure they get it by March 1. Other schools use the March 1 deadline as the date you submit it to the government.</p>
<p>musicmom, what I mean is that when you file taxes now, they are for the year 2007. But for FAFSA, if you have not yet filed your taxes for the year 2007, you can submit data for your 2006 return and then update that data when you have filed your returns for the year 2007. I do not think income and data for the year 2008 is relevant for FAFSA. That will be used for the next year's round of FAFSA next Feb. </p>
<p>Cartera, you bring up a point that again, I will also reiterate.....people need to go by the deadlines that each of your schools has outlined. In my family, my husband deals with all the financial aid forms. My older D is an applicant for grad schools and gave my husband a master sheet of all FA due dates for each school (some have additional forms of their own besides FAFSA) and even the FAFSA due dates for each school are not the same. I think if one abides by the deadlines the schools give, that's what matters. Filing early doesn't have an advantage in terms of FA received (my point to chelle).</p>
<p>It is perfectly ok to fill out the FAFSA with last years tax return information
(2006).
Very few families have filed income tax forms for 2007 yet. The federal government assumes that incomes don't change extremely from year to year for most families.
In fact, with a 2/15 deadline each year, it is nearly impossible to get them 2007 information by then. The government acknowledges this. In April, when your return is complete, log on and change info to 2007's accuracy. You will be surprised that it will only change a few boxes on an interminably long form.</p>
<p>It is very important to simply fill out your form with your last tax return info.</p>
<p>But it is equally important to retain the password ID numbers both for yourself and your student. This is the issue that can hold you up as you need the ID numbers for use of "signatures" when you send the documents on-line.</p>
<p>Put your ID's in safe place for use year to year. The government gives you the same ID's to use for all 4 yrs of undergrad and grad school as well.
If you lose these numbers, it takes a week or more by snail mail/ or on-line to replace and can hold you up in the future.</p>
<p>Yes Do the FAFSA right away after Jan 1. Don't stress about tax return info not being filed yet. The government doesn't stress why should we?</p>
<p>I attended a seminar on college financial aid given for parents at a school to which my D is applying, and the and the guy in charge said that it IS an advantage for parents to get FAFSA and other forms (CSS, etc.) in as early as possible, within reason. He compared financial aid to a big pie, and said that those who qualify and who file in a very timely manner are more likely to get a nice sized slice than those who file later, even if they are qualified. Of course, he did say that it doesn't make a lot of difference if one files on, say, Jan. 20 or Feb. 15: just don't wait until mid March or later, because they may find then that even if they are qualified, there are no more slices to give.</p>
<p>Just a quick comment. I filed FAFSA forms for the first time in 2007 because we had two students in college and I felt that we might finally qualify for some aid. So I filed the FAFSA for my younger MT D by Feb. 15, 2007 based on the 2005 taxes, but I did not file for my older D who is a senior at a college in Florida until July. I was not certain what would happen with that, but she got the FAFSA funding we desired plus a little bit more scholarship from her school based on the new financial picture with her sister in college too. The only glitch was that the funding was not available until Sept. and the tuition was due like August 1. So what we did was let it stay in her account, and we owed A LOT less in December that we would have. That felt good! </p>
<p>Anyway, the point is that you should try to abide by FAFSA's and your child's school's rules obviously, but nothing is absolute in the FAFSA world based on what happened to us.</p>
<p>I was one of those who had to have my taxes done before filing FAFSA since my income varies a great deal from year to year thanks to commissions. I couldn't use the 2006 numbers to even begin to estimate 2007, but it sure feels good having those taxes done - thank goodness, I don't have to pay until April though.</p>
<p>Once you do CSS it is unchangeable but I believe if your #s change or you get your taxes done after the FAFSA deadline you can amend your FAFSA and the corrected forms will be sent to your schools so you might want to fill out an "estimated" FAFSA and get it filed.</p>
<p>ttmom, you are right. You can do the same thing if your kid is applying to more schools than the FAFSA can take the first time. You just make sure it has been received by the first batch and you have received your SAR, and then go in and amend it.</p>
<p>MusicMom - if you will have lower income in 2008 because of loss of income (the child support) you can ask for a special circumstances adjustment to reflect this.</p>
<p>You file FAFSA. Then you contact the school and ask for the adjustment. You have to provide supporting documentation then, if it is approved, the finaid officer goes into your FAFSA and adjusts the AGI.</p>
<p>We did this last year (for large medical expenses and loss of income) and it made a couple of thousand difference to my Ds EFC.</p>
<p>Here is more detailed information
FinAid</a> | Professional Judgment | Special Circumstances</p>
<p>Soozievt, You are correct I was talking about submitting the 2006 return information. I have an extra dependent this year and I was hoping THE 2007 tax return would be more favorable. I didn't want to risk having THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE using just my 2006 information. I will probably complete the form soon, just to be on the safe side.</p>
<p>chelle - for FAFSA you can estimate your income etc based on 2006 tax returns and put your extra dependant down on FAFSA also.</p>
<p>chelle, I am not FA expert, to be sure! My husband deals with that entire end of it and I helped the kids with everything else! I do know, however, that he has used the estimates from the prior year's returns to file FAFSA and then when the new return is ready, that is filed and any readjustments are made when the FA is truly doled out. So, if you can't get the 2007 return ready in time, that's OK because in the end, it will eventually be used. Good luck on getting decent FA!</p>
<p>soozievt, I just completed the FAFSA for the 9th time. I did it 4X for both of my older children. What a chore! I usually do it the first week of February. This is the first time I estimated. Everything seems to be more urgent and stresssful with Music Theater.</p>