<p>Most of my schools require me to submit them my parents' tax forms by feb 15th...but I don't think i can make that deadline.
Is it going to be okay? will i still be eligible for financial aid?</p>
<p>Missing the priority deadline may mean you won’t get your FA package as early and it may mean that you’ll miss out on some FA that has limited funding. Really, this is a question you need to ask your schools, not strangers on a forum. Why can’t your parents file by the 15th? Are they missing information or just unprepared? If FA is needed, they really need to do everything in their power to comply with the school’s deadlines. Good luck!</p>
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<p>I can’t answer for the OP, but some of us have tax situations that are very complex. If you own a small business with things like gains or losses carried from one year to the next or special IRS rulings that must be considered, those things take time. I provided our accountant with all of the information on January 3 and I have been on her tail ever since to give me at least an estimated income number - but since we’re not one of her bread-and-butter client, I have limited leverage to get moved to the top of her queue.</p>
<p>I have a standard type moderately complex but not overwhelming 1040 return. W2s, interest, dividends, capital gains from some stocks I sold last year, mortgage, some freelance, etc. I started my taxes today–with Turbo Tax as usual–and discovered that several of the financial institutions have not sent me their statements. They are not required to do this until January 31st. So there will be some scrambling going on. Fortunately, I’ll be able to recover most of the data either online or by telephone.</p>
<p>If worse comes to worst, I’ll file with whatever I have, to meet the colleges’ deadlines. Then I can, without penalty, amend the return at leisure before April 15th.</p>
<p>It is kind of pathetic, though, how we all dance to these colleges tunes. In my next life I plan to be born with a jumbo size silver spoon in my mouth so I can pay for college out of petty cash.</p>
<p>An amended return is your deadline friend.</p>
<p>Latichever…don’t do this amending at your leisure by April 15. Get this done ASAP. Any financial aid award you child gets with estimated data will be an estimated award. If you wait until April 15 to file your taxes, the school will likely not be have time to finalize your students award before he/she has to make a matriculation decision before May 1.</p>
<p>thumper</p>
<p>I’m planning to do as thorough a job as possible and submit ASAP. Perhaps I was too cavalier about the amending at leisure part by 4-15. But I’m thinking a valid filed return that is close in numbers to any amended return would not affect the aid. </p>
<p>That said, what are colleges’s requirements re amended returns? A return can be amended months or years later–and sometimes in the filer’s favor. </p>
<p>The only time I was audited, the agent wound up cutting me a check.</p>
<p>latichever…your financial aid tax filing issues, and your IRS tax filing issues are completely separate.</p>
<p>Let me give you an example…if your child is selected for verification, you WILL be required to submit your completed tax return for 2011. If you do not have it done, and need to get it done, your child’s verification process will be significantly delayed, and you will not know your final financial aid award until the process is done…plus no money will be disbursed until it’s done.</p>
<p>For IRS purposes, you are right…you can amend your return any old time within a number of years. BUT for financial aid purposes, if you want a finalized, ready to be disbursed award…you need to get this done quite a lot sooner than April 15.</p>
<p>The year your child is a freshman is the year you will likely have the earliest deadlines. Returning students typically have later deadline dates for subsequent years.</p>
<p>We have excellent estimates…we thought…of our income/assets when we submitted our FAFSA as a “will file”. DD got her estimated aid packages from two EA schools based on that. When we updated (which we did in February)…our actual income was only $3000 more than on the estimated form. At one school, her aid was DECREASED by $9000 (no you are not misreading that) based on that change. Believe me, our EFC had not changed THAT much (FAFSA only school). Prior to the change, this school’s aid had been the highest DD received. Their financial aid office flatly refused to discuss this with her…or us (we were there in person for an accepted student weekend). Guess what…that school went to the bottom of the radar screen, not so much because of the decrease in aid but because of their flat refusal to even explain their package.</p>
<p>Anyway, I digress. There is NO WAY I would want my student to make a matriculation choice by May 1 without knowing the real financial aid award…no matter HOW close I felt my numbers were. If you don’t complete your taxes before April 15 and file, the schools will likely not have enough time to make the adjustments if any before matriculation decisions are due.</p>
<p>AND yes…if there is a change…the schools can adjust (sometimes down) your award at any time.</p>