Does filing for a tax return affect financial aid given?

[PaulaM]

No, the amount of financial aid that you receive is not dependent on whether you file an income tax return or not. Your aid package is determined by the amount of income your earned in the previous year.

Filing a tax return just makes it easier to pull the needed financial values into your FAFSA application, but it is not required. Many students do not have to file a return or they apply for aid before their tax return is due. 

You'll will have to use other financial records to estimate the needed information (bank records and statements) if you don't need to file a tax return