Regarding the FAFSA?

Question

what type information does it require AND I know I need my last years earnings however my exmother inlaw did it through turbo tax online so I am waiting on a call back from her about that, so does the FAFSA just need my exact earnings from last year or is it an official document they need what exactly does the FAFSA need from my W-2 form? thank you so much have a great night!

Answer 1

If you're curious, you can work through the FAFSA form right online, and you can see for yourself exactly what they're going to ask.

One thing they will definitely ask is for you to tell them what your adjusted gross income was last year. That's a line from your tax return, so you'll need to have that available to you when you get ready to fill in the FAFSA.

Adjusted gross income isn't the income from your W-2 - that's your gross income and your net income after taxes. Adjusted gross income reflects various deductions.

If you need that information and you can't get it quickly from your ex-mother-in-law, you can request a tax transcript from the IRS. I know that they'll mail it for free, but I think you can also pay to have the information faxed to you. The mail request takes 2 weeks, so that's probably not going to work for you.

Depending on your age, income and marital status, the FAFSA may ask questions about your assets - how much you have in savings and how much you have in certain other investments.

Remember - the point of the FAFSA is to determine how much assistance you're going to need to pay for your college education. If you own stocks and bonds and you have a hefty checking or savings account, the Department of Education has a pretty good idea where you should be getting the money to pay for school - and it isn't from your fellow taxpayers.

If your FAFSA is chosen for "verification" (and 30% of all FAFSAs are), you may be asked to provide your college financial aid office with a full copy of your tax return - otherwise, you just need to provide information about your adjusted gross income.

Why not look over the FAFSA, so you can gather together everything you need to work through it. I've linked to the website below. You'll have to register to see it, but you don't need to fill it all in the first time you visit.  You can save partial work and return to it later.

I hope that helped! Good luck!