My parents are late on filing their taxes, and still haven’t filed their 2013 tax returns. I did not know this, and I asked my dad to fill out my CSS Profile. He filled it out using 2012 tax information and we submitted it (so stupid, I know)
I’m not sure what this means? Am I screwed? Should I just inform the universities I applied to about the mistake? Inform the College Board? A few of the places I applied to require us to send in the 2014 tax returns when we get them. We’re going to file for that and send them in before the deadline.
If it helps, the places I sent the CSS Profile to are UPenn, Dartmouth, NYU, Cornell, and USC.
Well…actually, the info the Profile wants for the 2015-2016 form is from the 2014 tax year.
How different are the numbers…income, taxes paid…than what will actually be on the 2014 tax return. That is what matters.
You also need to get the FAFSA done. And you will need to have the 2014 taxes done ASAP so that you can link to the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.
In many cases, the IRS DRT is how the schools correct the information on the Profile in terms of items from the 2014 tax return.
You can contact your schools and ask how they want the Profile updated. It’s not a huge issue. Lots of students file using estimates and update later.
Of course…it would be best if the numbers on your Profile are close to the actual 2014 numbers.
Hello!
I also made a mistake on my css profile… unless of couse I’m misunderstanding. I do not understand the tax form process. Can you file taxes using any of them or are there specific requirements. I searched it up and I was down to 1040 or 1040a but I put 1040 on the css but after checking again, I’m pretty sure we will file using 1040a because my mother does not make more than 100,000 and she only earns income through wages. I’m really stressed over this. Putting the wrong tax form, one that is supposedly for those that make a lot (which I don’t) will probably harm me badly. I just want to confirm if anything I have said is solidly grounded with facts or am I misunderstanding everything? And if I really did mess up, should I email my schools? Finally, I missed a few priority deadlines. Is all hope lost? It’s going to be more than a few days late, but should I still send it in and see what happens (though I’m pretty sure my financial aid chances are limited). Thanks for any helpful advice 
Many people file 1040 but can file 1040a. 1040 is not just for people who make a lot, but for people who have certain types of income, business schedules, losses, etc. It is fine to file a 1040 or a 1040a (if you qualify); there is no difference in the tax owed.
Priority deadlines tend to be issues if you are looking for financial aid from a limited source. The federal SEOG grant and Perkins loans, federal work study, and certain institutional financial aid (varies from college to college) have limited amounts and once those are used up they’re not available – even if you would have otherwise qualified for them. Some schools promise to ensure that everyone who files by the priority deadline gets the funding they are eligible for from these limited sources, while people who file late are basically ‘last in line’ for these.
Other schools are stricter and if you miss the deadline then you can’t be eligible for any of their own aid at all, and others are more flexible. Your best bet is to check with the schools that you missed the deadlines for to see if missing the deadline actually matters a lot.
Whatever you put down on the PROFILE for the school year beginning in 201t is likely to be crosschecked ultimately with your parents and your 2014 federal tax returns. If you don’t have them filed when the verification process is done, you don’t get the money, many times. If there are discrepancies, the schools have their own ways of dealing with them. They can either correct it themselves, or they can ask for additional info for you, ask you to correct the forms or do a full fledged audit. If the numbers don’t jive to their satisfaction, you do not get the money.
A lot of the financial aid packages are estimates only, until the actual numbers are verified.
Right now the important thing is getting the 2014 tax forms done and see what the various schools request from you in terms of updating the PROFILE. Did you complete FAFSA?