parents with their heads in the clouds

[limbo]

hey. what is a gal to do when her parents dont have their tax info together and she needs to fill out the FAFSA?

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[laana]

Sue the parents! Sue them for not fulfilling their parental duties, which would include doing their taxes...


Hah.
Ok, at the serious level now. I really am not too sure what to do. Contact your pre-med advisor, ask them. Or, call a medical school admissions office/financial aid office to get your question answered.
Could your parents try to get their tax stuff together? Will you miss the FAFSA deadline? Ask your parents how they could get their stuff together, tell them to go to some tax people like H&R block.
That must be really frustrating...

 

[limbo]

yeah it is the most frustrating thing. the priority filing deadline is today. looks like its not getting done. ill call the evil people at FAFSA tomorrow and ask them if i can just submit and then correct it later.

 

[virilep]

some schools have the priority filling date later. mine is march 15th. you might wanna call your schools to find the exact date. but yah, that's frustrating. gluck.

 

[XYF]

i believe you may estimate the number for 2004. check to be sure though

 

[trinitrotoluene]

What is the reason for the hang-up?

 

[limbo]

apparently you can correct the FAFSA once it has been processed. so i submitted it and told my momma to get her a$$ in gear.

 

[fun8stuff]

hey. what is a gal to do when her parents dont have their tax info together and she needs to fill out the FAFSA?

I guess this may be the first time that I am glad that my step-mom is an accountant. Their taxes were done in early January! (although it took me until first couple days of february to submit!)

 

[Psycho Doctor]

my parents taxes aren't even filed for 2003 yet b/c they were still waiiting for a K-1 from some company that stalls all the time. then when they finally got it and called their accountant they found out he had very suddenly died.

 

[limbo]

my parents taxes aren't even filed for 2003 yet b/c they were still waiiting for a K-1 from some company that stalls all the time. then when they finally got it and called their accountant they found out he had very suddenly died.

are you for real?

 

[tinkerbelle]

my parents taxes aren't even filed for 2003 yet b/c they were still waiiting for a K-1 from some company that stalls all the time. then when they finally got it and called their accountant they found out he had very suddenly died.

I'm surprised the IRS isn't hassling them. They still haven't found an accountant to do their taxes though? I mean, it's like a year overdue. You're so funny psycho

 

[Psycho Doctor]

are you for real?

uh yea, what was the matter with that post? It's the absolute truth.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I'm surprised the IRS isn't hassling them. They still haven't found an accountant to do their taxes though? I mean, it's like a year overdue. You're so funny psycho

No they did get someone to do their taxes now; this just happened like a week ago. And the IRS doesn't care since they owe my parents money so what do they care if it ever gets filed? I think they should be hasseling the company for not getting their act together.

 

[trinitrotoluene]

I'm surprised the IRS isn't hassling them. They still haven't found an accountant to do their taxes though? I mean, it's like a year overdue. You're so funny psycho

Actually, the IRS rarely goes after you unless claim certain types of business dudctions or the earned-income tax credit. The rich can often aviod paying taxes by simply not filing. If the IRS collected all taxes rightfully due, the budget deficit would disappear.

 

[Law2Doc]

Actually, the IRS rarely goes after you unless claim certain types of business dudctions or the earned-income tax credit. The rich can often aviod paying taxes by simply not filing. If the IRS collected all taxes rightfully due, the budget deficit would disappear.

Please, please, please do not rely on this above post as tax advice. I have worked in the industry and this is simply a bad idea. There are a variety of monetary penalties in the tax code for failure to file, (and failure to pay, withhold, etc.) and the penalties and interest can quickly add up to an amount significantly higher than your tax liability. The IRS historically only audits 2 to 5% of all tax returns, so the odds of getting caught tend to be fairly low, but if you are one of those unlucky few, it could mean financial ruin (in the industry it is referred to as an "audit lottery"). In an effort to show that they go after everyone though, that 2-5% tends to be significantly composed of wealthy people, with doctors fairly high on the list of audit targets to make an example of (certain deductions do serve as "audit flags", as the above poster was referring to, but a failure to file is probably the biggest flag there is). With additional computerization over the past few years, those people that have filed once (and are thus in the system), and yet thereafter not filed or missed a year tend to get caught pretty readilly. And frankly, it is not generally the rich who fail to file -- they usually do file but tend to have aggressive accountants and lawyers who can sometimes minimize taxes with nice loophole deductions. This is just not a fact. Thus while it is uncontestable that the IRS doesn't collect everything it is owed, it would be shear stupidity to just not file your tax returns. Really bad idea...

 

[trinitrotoluene]

Please, please, please do not rely on this above post as tax advice. It would be shear stupidity to just not file your tax returns. Really bad idea...

I was not advocating anything. However, people do cheat the system all the time. And yes, some rich people do just elect to not file. However, I always do.

 

[Law2Doc]

I was not advocating anything. However, people do cheat the system all the time. And yes, some rich people do just elect to not file. However, I always do.

As a percentage, more rich do file returns than other classes. They just get the benefit of better advice and are frequently able to lessen their tax burden more. As for cheating the system, sure lots of people do so, but then again lots of people commit lots of illegal acts. Doesn't make it smart, and for the better off, the costs almost always outweigh the benefits.

 

[daisee82]

if your FAFSA is for med school and not undergrad, you don't need your parents info. at least i didn't. since you choose "pursuing graduate school/professional school for school year 2005-2006" they give you the option of putting in your parents info. as long as you did your taxes and have that info such as your adjusted gross income, etc. you should be able to fill it out.

 

[tinkerbelle]

if your FAFSA is for med school and not undergrad, you don't need your parents info. at least i didn't. since you choose "pursuing graduate school/professional school for school year 2005-2006" they give you the option of putting in your parents info. as long as you did your taxes and have that info such as your adjusted gross income, etc. you should be able to fill it out.

true, but don't forget that most schools require the parental info if you want to qualify for institutional grants etc...

 

[scrappysurfer]

i believe you may estimate the number for 2004. check to be sure though

yep. this was a battle with my parents. my dad has a private law practice, so his taxes are nothing short of a nightmare. your parents need estimates, but do not need to have the tax return filed. (my Dad finally got his estimates through yesterday)

 

[45408]

hey. what is a gal to do when her parents dont have their tax info together and she needs to fill out the FAFSA?

I feel your pain.