I submitted FAFSA with bank balances as of that day to S’s first 10 schools. When I submit to schools 11+ a couple days later, do I have to update the assets to reflect the new balances?
^No! You don’t touch the assets on the corrections / updates.
No, I don’t even think you can. Assets are a one time shot.
The only time you can change the asset amount is if you made an error and need to correct it. For example, we completed a FAFSA once without including one bank account…oops. So we went back and changed the asset amount to the correct one.
Okay, that’s good to know. Thank you all!
@thumper1, is that an easy fix? We estimated one bank balance because we don’t have the current amount yet, so it’ll be close but could be off by a bit and is non-exact. Would a non-exact amount be considered an error? We also rounded the other assets; would that be seen as an “error” too? (It’s correct to within a thousand or so, but it’ll be an obvious estimate because it’s rounded.)
Frankly, I just assumed at the time that since we were using 2014 taxes and would update that with 2015, we’d be able to get more specific with assets as well if needed. But now I see that the tax update is really just about this year’s taxes and doesn’t seem to include assets … although it sounds from your comment as if there’s a way to make changes. (Newbie at this, with no guidance but internet LOL, so I was glad to see this thread!)
Your assets are supposed to be accurate as of the initial,filing date for your FAFSA. You are NOT supposed to estimate your assets. With online banking, you should have been able to get the exact balance as of the date you submitted.
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If total of assets is off by a thousand, your EFC may be off by $56.
I don’t think that is a problem worth your time.
Thanks, @4kidsdad … @thumper1, as mentioned, we did not have that information. I gather you live in the developed world where all possible assets are available at your fingertip via online banking. We do not. What I asked, actually was HOW to make that change if needed. Not whether I should have done something differently.
The assets are to be reported as of the day of initial filing. If the amount you reported for assets was incorrect - that is, they were actually a different amount on that day - you can update the asset amount on your FAFSA to reflect the correct amount. Retain your documentation so that you can provide it to the school if they ask for it (they may, since will be able to see that the asset amount changed).
@4kidsdad - Your response above helped me, too. We filed the FAFSA on Jan 3, but I was off on the assets by a few thousand dollars. I wasn’t sure how much to worry about it - and the answer is pretty clearly “not at all.” S is not likely to be eligible for much FA at all, other than perhaps some unsubsidized loans. Our EFC is just too high.
S has been giving me the checks and cash he’s been receiving from grandparents over the past few years. He’s an authorized user on one of my credit cards, so I just cover his expenses as he goes, drawing down that amount. Not sure it’ll end up mattering, though.
It also depends if you are under the asset protection allowance, then you might not even have to provide actual account balances, at least that’s the way it was for us last year.