I guess we need to do FAFSA after all so I will be tackling that and taxes today.
I wrote yesterday that D decided not to consider the school that popped in with the surprise merit scholarship. Well, strike that. Last night she said she wanted to check it out and visit during admitted students day. This is the only school she applied to that we haven’t visited at all and I have to admit we know virtually nothing about it. It was a last minute decision to apply because they sent her a fee waiver and it didn’t have a supplement so applying was super easy. So now we will be going to see two schools during her Feb vacation week, this and one of her top two.
Then, when checking the terms of the scholarship it says that it requires FAFSA to be filed by Feb 10. Uggh. This is the only school where she has received merit that has the requirement so we thought we would avoid it, but now just to keep this option alive through the time she visits I have to file the form. I hope it isn’t too difficult. I’ll have to go back and check all the posts here for advice later after I get the taxes done. We don’t electronically file our taxes due to identity theft problems we had in the past. I hope that doesn’t complicate things.
I’m now worried along similar lines – we only have 1 CSS school and of course its deadline is earliest. Usually I would lean on S16 to make contact but this involves our taxes (which we’ve never completed before mid march before) so I’m hoping it is okay for me to make the call.
My guess is to ask the accountant to file a preliminary return and go back and refile. You really can’t wait until April for the school processes to work for you.
Employers don’t have to give you your W2’s until Jan. 31. My accountant says to wait a day or two after that to make sure I have everything. Some colleges want the FAFSA/CSS by Feb. 15th. IDOC isn’t ready for two weeks after taxes are filed. I am filing today, two weeks is Feb. 20th. I could have just mailed it and most colleges would have it within 1-5 days. I submitted FAFSA/CSS using 2014 numbers in January, but my new #'s are different. Does that mean I met the deadline and have more time to put in my new numbers?
Hello to all. Sorry to intrude on the parents’ thread, but I had a quick question and you all tend to be very knowledgeable and helpful.
I need to submit some forms to IDOC, but my parents are divorced. They’re each very concerned that the other will be able to see their financial information. Is there any way to view documents after they have been uploaded? Could they in theory both create their own login as they did for FAFSA? Or should they both just send to me, and I will upload?
@whitespace I’m pretty sure everything has to be submitted through your account. Have them give you the forms. I don’t think you can view the uploads but I haven’t tried either.
Alright, thank you. It’s just a little difficult because they’re both convinced that the other is trying to swindle them into paying for something - when in reality, neither of them are contributing anything to my school fees.
@whitespace Can you go to each of your parents’ house and upload his or her forms from there? They don’t need to all be done at the same time and that way their tax forms / W-2s don’t leave their hands.
@Dragonflygarden Yes, that is what I am planning to do - however, just the fact that they are uploading them onto the same site under one login makes them worry. As you can imagine, filling out the CSS Profile was a bundle of fun. I’m sure it will all work out fine in the end, I was just hoping there might be an easier way around it.
Silly question - what is the IDOC, and would we be notified if we need to complete one for S16? I was off-line for several days, so sorry if I missed what this relates to. We’ve completed the FAFSA, and didn’t need the CSS for any of his applications. Just want to make sure this isn’t yet another step I need to track down at the schools he applied to :)…
me29034, it doesn’t cost anything to use online tax software and run your numbers through it. There should be an option to preview your tax return, you don’t have to go through the efile. You should be able to delete it after you’re done.
For our FAFSA we needed the AGI, income from working, tax paid from the tax return. Also the 401k contributions from the W2.
@lifegarding if you didn’t need CSS for any schools, you don’t need to do IDOC either. IDOC is a College Board service that allows you to electronically provide tax forms, etc. to any of your CSS schools that require them.
Using the data retrieval tool confirms to the schools that you have submitted accurate tax information and may make it less likely to be selected for verification.
I think it would be especially beneficial for FAFSA only schools. Since it seems that if a school uses CSS profile and IDOC you have to send tax returns anyway.
S just returned from his Kairos retreat last night, and is at school all day today. He is in a scholars/social justice-focused “school within a school” that requires major senior projects, and those presentations are today. His is this afternoon, so I’ll head over around lunchtime to watch some of the others, and see his. After that, it really is a pretty easy (well, relatively speaking) glide to graduation in May.
For him, that is.
I’m staring down FAFSA, and just read 4 pages of all of the comments you all have written about IDOC. It makes me think there’s something to the allure of day drinking. But no- I’ll grab more coffee and see what I can do. I did most of my taxes last week, but was waiting for one 1099 from a company that is notoriously late with them. People at work were saying those forms finally made it in, so I’ll pull that down, and then should be done. And then update FAFSA, update CSS Profile, see if S’ dad has done his taxes so he can update the CSS Noncustodial profile…
And then IDOC? I’m so confused. I’m also so very grateful for all of you who’re a few steps ahead here. I’m going to be referring back to this thread all weekend, I think, to make sure I don’t miss something!
@CAMidwestMom, yes the data retrieval is only for FAFSA. Any corrections to the CSS have to be done by hand. No changes can be made electronically unless you’re submitting it to a new school.
Not sure if this is true for all schools, but my oldest daughter’s school mandates the IRS retrieval thing be done at some point (I normally get an e mail reminding me long after I have submitted and forgotten about FAFSA)
@2manybooks I’m impressed your DS is coherent after returning from Kairos, let alone able to do a big presentation. My kids came home exhausted from Kairos and slept the entire weekend. DS will be a leader on a retreat in March, and I hope being a leader means more sleep.
Right now DS is in Toronto at a model UN convention. Because I am an idiot, it didn’t dawn on me that Canada being a foreign country, I needed to arrange cell phone coverage for him. So we’re paying more than I could have arranged for had I just thought ahead.
But no- I’ll grab more coffee and see what I can do. I did most of my taxes last week, but was waiting for one 1099 from a company that is notoriously late with them. People at work were saying those forms finally made it in, so I’ll pull that down, and then should be done. And then update FAFSA, update CSS Profile, see if S’ dad has done his taxes so he can update the CSS Noncustodial profile…