| FAFSA/Tax filing
I'm not an expert, but what the school financial aid people have told me is that they want real figures before March 1. Giving them "fluffy figures" on Feb 1 doesn't do them any good; they'll likely just put them in a "hold" file and wait for the real deal. As long as you meet the deadline of March 1, you're good-to-go. That's when they start processing in earnest.
To my knowledge, you can't use your 2007 returns. The best you can do is estimate your 2008 returns and submit those. (Accountants are used to requests to meet 3/1 deadlines from parents of collegians. Don't be shy about telling them WHY you need them early.)
You can complete/submit the FAFSA and wait to file your taxes until April. That's not a problem. The FAFSA aks whether you're filing with "completed" tax figures or not. There's where you have a little "play:" As long as your forms are completed (and the figures will remain the same), you can answer "YES." You don't need to FILE them with the IRS until April if you don't want to. What they care about is that the numbers remain the same.
Good luck!
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