FAQ Regarding Tax Documents
Why are tax documents required?
Schools determine award amounts based on financial need. They have a financial aid budget with limited funds for deserving families who need help to pay their tuition. FAIR uses your tax documents to verify income.
When are the tax forms due?
You should submit your tax documents to FAIR as soon as you can after you submit your application to us. Schools have set deadline dates for having your application and tax documents to FAIR. Because it may take us up to 10 days to process your application, we suggest that you have your documents in to us 1-2 weeks prior to the deadline date so that your process will be completed before the deadline.
What do I do if the school deadline is prior to April 15 (Federal Tax deadline)?
Frequently schools have a deadline date before April 15. We suggest that you complete your taxes as early as possible to ensure that your application is considered within the first group of award decisions.
What if I am going to file an extension and will be filing my taxes later in the year.
Please send your prior year Federal tax documents, a copy of your extension to file and your most recent W-2’s.
What tax forms are needed?
Once you submit your application to FAIR, you will receive a confirmation email telling you what tax documents we need.
Typically, we need your Federal Tax Forms (1040 and Schedule 1). You may also have other supporting schedules like:
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Schedule A - Itemized Deductions
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Schedule B - Interest & Dividend Income
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Schedule C - If you have income on line 3 of your Schedule 1.
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Schedule E - If you have income on line 5 of your Schedule 1.
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Schedule F - If you have income on line 6 of your Schedule 1.
If you have filed an amended tax return, please ensure that both the Amendment and the originally filed 1040 Forms are submitted.
How do I send my tax documents to FAIR
We prefer to have you upload your tax documents to us. Once you submit your online application to us, an Upload Documents link is visible on our Home Page beneath the Print/View link.
Documents must be in PDF format before they can be uploaded.
If you wish to fax your tax documents to us the number is 1-651-204-0013.
If you wish to mail your tax documents to us the address is:
FAIR
PO Box 211423
Eagan, MN 55121
How quickly will my forms be processed?
Typically your application will be processed within 3-5 Business Days, however, it can take up to 7-10 business days during peak season (January through May). Documents are processed in the order they are received.
If you need to contact us, please email us at customerservice@fairtuition.com.
How can I convert my JPEG tax images to PDF format?
You can go to Adobe's website at ADOBE CONVERTER to convert your images.
How can I save specific pages from my PDF tax documents?
If you have your tax documents in PDF format from your accountant, you may have pages that FAIR does not need. These pages may include worksheet and other miscellaneous pages.
You should be able to save the pages FAIR needs to a new PDF file.
The easiest way to do this is to open up your PDF file in Adobe Acrobat or your web browser (Chrome, Edge, etc.) and then choose the option to Print your file. The Printer or Destination should have an option for you to Save as PDF (or something similar). Select that option and then select the Pages option. You should be able to print the entire document to a new PDF file or selected pages e.g. 1-5, 8, 10-13. Then select Print. You will be asked to provide a new file name.