<p>While filling out our taxes this year, I realized that I made a mistake in figuring the 8863 last year. I mistakenly left out Qualified Expenses which we paid in December of 2010 for the Spring 2011 semester. Somehow I didn’t see the note on the instructions that they should be applied in the year they were paid. The amount is fairly significant. I know I can file a 1040X for 2010 taxes to get an increase in the credit, but I’m wondering about the chain reaction. Will I have to somehow correct the FAFSA we filed last year because the amounts have changed? I can’t find anything about this on the FAFSA website. I only see information about how to handle a correction in the same year. Any help would be appreciated!</p>
<p>Once you have the taxes straight, call the financial aid office at your child’s school, and talk this over with them. They will be able to tell you if you need to correct your old FAFSA.</p>
<p>OP,</p>
<p>Please post if you found out. I am considering amending my prior year return to claim a credit which I had omitted.</p>
<p>I contacted FAFSA. I was told that if it changes the AGI or the amount of tax that would be assessed on the AGI, then the FAFSA for that year would have to be corrected. If it doesn’t, then no correction is necessary. Since we are increasing a credit which comes after that on the 1040, we do not need to file a correction. I also went through our state tax forms to be sure there would be no changes there, and there would not be, so it looks like filing a 1040X in our case would be the only action necessary. Prior to contacting FAFSA, I called the school’s FA dept and was told filing a correction would not change anything because they make their FA decisions based on the information which is available and thought to be correct at the time the decision is made. However, I wanted to be really sure, so I contacted FAFSA too.</p>