FAFSA question.....

[Minnie_me]

When I had my taxes done this year, my accountant said something about being able to go online and complete the FAFSA, and that all of the info would just "plug into the right places".

DD and I are about to fill out the FAFSA, and would love it to be that easy. So.....how do I do it?

(Admitting right here, that these kinds of things are my biggest difficulty...sorry if I sound dumb!)

 

[MrWonderful]

Just follow the steps.... it is vvery easy. Just have your most recent tax returns and pay stubs, asset listings, etc, for all the people in your family.
Go thru the FASFA step by step, if you get stuck, just save your progress and you can resume anytime. Nothing to fear here

 

[Moramoon]

MrWonderful is right. It's much easier than it used to be. It will give you step by step on the right side of the screen and tell you where to look for the info if you need to plug it in. When you get to the tax info it will give you the option to import if you're eligible. (If you filed paper and certain tax forms it won't let you). Even without importing though it's very easy. My husband has been working towards his degree, but I always do his FAFSA for him and it normally takes me less than 5 minutes to complete.

 

[Maliboo]

When I had my taxes done this year, my accountant said something about being able to go online and complete the FAFSA, and that all of the info would just "plug into the right places".

DD and I are about to fill out the FAFSA, and would love it to be that easy. So.....how do I do it?

(Admitting right here, that these kinds of things are my biggest difficulty...sorry if I sound dumb!)

For next year, fill out the FAFSA ASAP after January 1st. I did ours on January 1st and used last years taxes to input tax and income information. A few weeks after your taxes are done, you can go back into the FAFSA and import your new tax information from that year so everything is correct and up to date.

 

[kaddjr]

For next year, fill out the FAFSA ASAP after January 1st. I did ours on January 1st and used last years taxes to input tax and income information. A few weeks after your taxes are done, you can go back into the FAFSA and import your new tax information from that year so everything is correct and up to date.

FYI, October 1st of this year is when one can start filling out FAFSA for the 2017-2018 school year using 2015 tax returns.

 

[Maliboo]

FYI, October 1st of this year is when one can start filling out FAFSA for the 2017-2018 school year using 2015 tax returns.

Thank you, I had forgotten about the new date.

 

[kaddjr]

Thank you, I had forgotten about the new date.

You're welcome!

 

[runwad]

Sounds like he is referring to the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, but I'm not sure that you can use that before inputting all your figures?? I could be wrong but I think you use the DRT after you've estimated your figures; then after your taxes are done you go back into the FAFSA and update with this years tax information.

 

[tvguy]

Only step I see missing is getting PIN for both you and your daughter. No biggie, but you need that PIN to electronically sign the FAFSA form. Some times it can take a day to get a PIN, you can apply online, probably a line on the FAFSA page. Mine came back within the hour of applying.

 

[luvsJack]

You don't get a PIN anymore, its a FSA ID. And you each have to set it up yourself. There is a "data retrieval tool" on the FAFSA site. You just click on this tool and it will pull all your info over from the IRS site. That's probably what your tax person was talking about. Takes two minutes. No reason to need any paperwork if your tax info is pretty straight forward.

 

[tvguy]

You don't get a PIN anymore, its a FSA ID. And you each have to set it up yourself. There is a "data retrieval tool" on the FAFSA site. You just click on this tool and it will pull all your info over from the IRS site. That's probably what your tax person was talking about. Takes two minutes. No reason to need any paperwork if your tax info is pretty straight forward.

Thanks, DD graduated a year ago, so haven't done a FAFSA in 2 years.

 

[runwad]

You don't get a PIN anymore, its a FSA ID. And you each have to set it up yourself. There is a "data retrieval tool" on the FAFSA site. You just click on this tool and it will pull all your info over from the IRS site. That's probably what your tax person was talking about. Takes two minutes. No reason to need any paperwork if your tax info is pretty straight forward.

So LuvsJack when we do the FAFSA again in October we can just do the IRS Retrieval Tool, since we are using 2015 info again?

 

[luvsJack]

So LuvsJack when we do the FAFSA again in October we can just do the IRS Retrieval Tool, since we are using 2015 info again?

My guess is yes.