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Beginning this week, we will kick off a series of FAFSA-related articles that will visit topics and scenarios related to financial aid, navigating the FAFSA process, how your income or your taxes play into the FAFSA and important dates for timely form filing.

From divorced parents, to income variances, to which college savings plan is right for your family, we’ll address these topics and much more. This series is a great resource for parents preparing to send their child to college or degree-seeking adults entering the education marketplace.

FAFSA: The Nitty and the Gritty
First in a series

We all have our favorite seasons – spring, summer, baseball, football. As a CPA, I have tax season, and, if you are parent of a college-bound student, you know all too well, it is FAFSA season. Why should an event that seems invasive, confusing, and stressful be given such a lofty ranking?  How about a chance at free money?

So, you are feeling pretty good about that lingering debt that has finally been stamped "paid in full." 

Maybe you have refinanced, modified a loan or emptied the piggy bank to clear last year's credit card frenzy that left you with a bothersome monthly payment, accruing fees and a high interest rate.  But, is it all that simple? Will debt cancellation bu ok "as is" or are there other considerations to factor?

As recommended and published by the IRS, below, find a few of most common situations that you should be aware of surrounding debt cancellation and income. 

 The following is an article published March 2, 2016, by Michael Cohn of Accounting Today. 

Deep into February, I begin to receive two very common questions:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has begun issuing Identity Protection PINs (IP PINs). The IP PIN is a unique, six-digit number that is assigned annually to victims of identity theft (whose cases have been resolved) for use when filing their federal tax return. An IP PIN helps the IRS verify a taxpayer's identity and accept their electronic or paper tax return.

When a taxpayer has an IP PIN, it prevents someone else from filing a tax return with their social security number (SSN) as the primary or secondary taxpayer (spouse).

Many business owners stress over gathering receipts, recalculating figures and some even lose sleep over filling out their tax yearly organizer. But did you know, there are five things your CPA really wants to see when you submit your information so that he or she can start to work on your taxes? Let’s take a look...