So I’ve applied to about 8 schools and heard back from 2 of them already (accepted). However, they all require that I update the FAFSA with 2014 tax info, send in 2014 tax returns and other forms for the 2014 year. The deadline is rapidly approaching in about a week.
HOWEVER, my family has an accountant that does our taxes for us. Our accountant has not even completed our 2014 taxes yet because they are waiting on a certain healthcare form from the IRS which can take MONTHS. My ability to attend college is COMPLETELY DEPENDENT on financial aid. Our EFC isn’t zero, but it’s pretty close to that.
What should I do? Should I give up on getting any good financial aid, and thus, going to college? I’ve already completed the PROFILE, FAFSA, etc with 2013 info and sent in business forms and tax returns, but all for 2013.
Call the schools. It may be that you won’t be in the priority group for financial aid, or it may be the aid stays in a ‘projected’ status until you can provide the final forms. You can’t give them what you don’t have.
My husband uses an accountant for our taxes (he is self employed) but he used the paperwork to fill in the estimated 2014 tax info for FAFSA - he then sent the information onto our accountant. When the taxes are finished we will do a “data retrieval” - your family should be able to do this.
You need to explain to your parents that you need their tax returns now in order to be able to get financial aid. If that means having to file amended returns when that healthcare form arrives, then so be it. You need to file now, even if their accountant has to amend later. Tell your parents that this is non-negotiable - if they want you to be able to attend college next year, they need to get this done.
Bleh. If you’re wrong just update them later. Make educated guesses based on common sense if the only other alternative is missing the deadline; worst case scenario is that they penalize you for it the next year but you’ve got a whole year to sort that out. It’s not a crime or anything, but yeah, they can put you on “financial aid probation” for a while.
However, as long as you’re close they usually don’t care, especially if you tell them after the fact and pay back the $45.00 extra dollars they gave you.
Perhaps they’re waiting on the updated forms that have to be reissued because the Affordable Care Act reporting documents were very, very wrong.
I would email each of the schools and explain the situation, and ask how they’d like you to handle it. (There are a lot of people in this circumstance this year.)
If Op is an incoming freshman (and it it sounds as she is), Dodgersmom is correct, she needs to get those taxes done like yesterday if she wants andy need based aid. Most schools even Harvard have financial aid budgets. If her FA file is incomplete, she won’t get any aid. Her parents should amend taxes later if they have to but they need to submit something now, turn in a copy of the signed tax forms and use the IRS data retrieval tool
Even in the end, she will not receive any actual money until she either gets a tax transcript or her parents do the irs data retrieval tool .
Thanks for the advice everybody. I have emailed the colleges’ financial aid offices and if they do not reply within a day, I will call them. Regardless, I am trying to get our accountant to file without the form and we will amend later when we receive the form. The return might be a few days late but I hope that it won’t miss the deadline by too much.
I wish there were more people I could talk to about this. My college counselor knows very little and my parents know close to nothing about college, college admissions, and financial aid. I’ve had to do all of the financial aid stuff myself, just about. I just hope that it will turn out well and I will be able to attend college.
Not all come from the federal government . If you bought insurance through a state exchange, they provide the form. But I agree, file without the form and then file an amended return later. Not ideal, but it will cost your family a lot more to miss out on financial aid. But your parents should check to see if the form is online.