<p>Since the FAFSA was available starting January 1, am I supposed to use my parents' tax forms from 2012 to fill it and the CSS PROFILE out since they haven't filed for the 2013 year yet?</p>
<p>Your parents should have end of year paychecks, with year to date info from 2013. Use that as it will be a better estimate than 2012 (unless their incomes haven’t changes at all).</p>
<p>You want to complete the FAFSA with the best estimates possible. And you want to get those 2013 taxes done ASAP!!</p>
<p>You can use last years figures to estimate, select “will file” and then update the amounts once the return is filed. Not everyone has W-2’s to utilize for the income estimate, although if you do, that is a good way to estimate-- but you will still have to submit the final numbers once the return is filed.</p>
<p>For my family, it’s a challenge because our income is strictly 1099 reported from numerous clients and we have yet to receive any 1099s. That means I’m spending the weekend adding up all the gigs and expenses so that I can do the CSS profile. I used last years figures for the FAFSA and will just use the IRS option to upload the return to the FAFSA.</p>