<p>So... my kid is across the country at college as a freshman. Her IDOC package consists of several documents, mostly my tax returns and my business tax returns. And then there is her return... for the first time last year she worked enough to file; she earned a few thousand dollars, and wants to file because taxes were withheld and she will get them back. So I plugged her info into TurboTax and her returns were ready to submit in 10 minutes. As I did with her sister, I will send her a .pdf and ask her to review before I submit them to the IRS and state (but am sure there will be no changes).</p>
<p>But I really don't know what to do about having a "signed" copy of her return in the IDOC package... she is 2000 miles away. What do others do in this situation?</p>
<p>I believe that the IDOC rules are clear: wait until you have her signed form and then mail everything together. They clearly want only one mailing. The only exception is a separate mailing from noncustodial parent.</p>
<p>When you file electronically they never “sign” a piece of paper. This is (IMHO) an antiquated idea from the pre-electronic filing days. I don’t believe all parents are really doing this – are they waiting until spring break to get a signature? Or sending their kid a copy, asking them to sign it, then fax or mail it back? Sure, my busy college student has time to do that… I bet many parents are fudging their kid’s “signature” to get the IDOC package in. Just would like to hear from some of them…</p>
<p>From the IDOC Requirements page:
<a href=“https://idoc.collegeboard.org/idoc/DisplayIDOCCoverLetterServlet/DisplayIDOCCoverLetterServlet.srv”>Institutional Documentation Service (IDOC);
Have you included one copy of each of your required documents (including all W-2’s, schedules, and corporate or partnership returns) in one packet? Do not send the requested information to the College Board in multiple mailings. Do not send duplicate packets. Do not send duplicate documents. Only information from the noncustodial parent, if requested, may be submitted separately with a separate Cover Sheet.</p>
<p>Okay… you can stop lecturing me on IDOC format. We sent it in last year. But my kid (1) was living at home last year, not at a college across the country, and (2) didn’t have a return because she didn’t work.</p>
<p>Also, your link doesn’t work unless you are signed into IDOC.</p>
<p>Send her the tax in pdf by email (with password) and ask her to print, sign, scan and send it back to you. Then you can print it out with her signature. Will it work? If she do not have access to a scanner, just take a good picture which can be printed out too.</p>
<p>Sorry, intparent, didn’t mean to lecture! I just mailed my daughter’s in yesterday but she still lives with me!</p>
<p>I did exactly what @txhandan recommends. Hope it is acceptable. It looked like it had been copied a few times and the sizing got messed up so I had to adjust it before printing it.</p>
<p>Or you could just sign it for her. Sheesh! There are things in life that are worth going to all the trouble described above . . . but, sorry folks, IDOC is not one of them!</p>