The financial aid booklet we received from Yale recommends waiting until the 2014 federal tax return has been submitted to the IRS before completing the FAFSA so parents can use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. Elsewhere, though, people say to fill out and submit the FAFSA as soon as possible on or after January 1 using estimates (and then updating them later, after the return is filed). What do most Yale applicants do? And if we decide to submit the FAFSA early using estimates, will waiting a few days from now to do so make a difference, or will we already have jeopardized our aid chances by not submitting the FAFSA on January 1 or 2?
No. You will not jeopardize your aid by not filing an estimated FAFSA on the 1st or 2nd. Several things that you should know. If you, the student, are filing taxes for the first time AND you owe money, be prepared for a very long wait for the IRS retrieval. My son, who is a sophomore, was a first time filer last year and he owed money. He paid the amount owed at the time he filed in late January/early February. The IRS DRT did not work for him until the end of May. Don’t worry, this doesn’t affect your aid/grants in any way. It just delays your finalized aid letter. If your parents owe money, make sure they make the payment immediately. Waiting to make the payment will delay the processing of the tax return and your ability to use the IRS DRT.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to pm me. I will be happy to answer them.
Thanks, @momofmusician17—this is very helpful, and I’m glad to hear that our aid won’t be jeopardized by submitting the FAFSA a few days after January 1! Good to know, too, about the IRS DRT delays—many thanks!
As we found, the FAFSA is not that easy to update. My vote is to wait until receiving your W-2s in January and filing the FAFSA promptly after receiving the W-2s.
That is my personal opinion and I am not a financial expert or professional.