Student Financial Aid

Verification

 

Verification is a process used to review information submitted through the FAFSA to ensure that it was completed accurately.  This process is initiated by the U.S. Department of Education.  During verification, the UMSL Financial Aid Office will collect documents to determine whether certain questions on the FAFSA were reported correctly. 

If you are selected for verification, you must do the following:

Because there are certain deadlines, it is important that the verification process be completed in a timely manner.  Failure to complete verification of your application will prevent you from receiving a financial aid award.  For the Federal Pell Grant, verification materials must be submitted no later than 90 days after the last day of attendance, whichever is earlier.  For all other programs, our office must receive verification materials no later than the last date of attendance.  We cannot offer you financial aid if you are no longer attending classes.

Allow approximately 2 weeks following receipt of your materials for the verification review, and an additional seven to ten days if corrections are required. 

IMPORTANT: If you wait until the summer months to submit the documents needed for the process to be completed, the amount of time it takes to complete the verification process increases significantly; 8 weeks is not unusual.  Students are strongly encouraged to apply by April 1st, which is the priority filing date, to avoid delays in receiving both notice and disbursement of their financial aid.

Changes for the 2012-2013 year

Federal regulations now require tax information, that is submitted for verification purposes, to be obtained directly from the IRS either by choosing the IRS Data Retrieval Option on the FAFSA (the preferred method) or by requesting a Tax Return Transcript from the IRS and submitting it to our office.  Please DO NOT submit copies of your 2011 federal tax returns. 

FAFSA Filing Tips

Are you Eligible to Use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool?

Dependent and independent applicants (and the dependent applicant’s parent) who meet all of the following criteria may be eligible to use the 2012-2013 IRS Data Retrieval process:

What is Your Next Step?

Applicant and/or Parent Eligible to Transfer Data

If the above tax filing or marital status criteria are not applicable to the student and/or parent, he or she is eligible to transfer 2011 tax data from the IRS to the 2012-13 FAFSA:

Applicant and/or Parent Not Eligible to Transfer Data

When one or more of the first six tax filing or marital status filtering questions above is applicable, the FAFSA process will bypass the option to Link to the IRS and inform the applicant, based on his or her response, that he or she is not eligible to transfer tax data from the IRS to the FAFSA.

If you are ineligible to use the FAFSA Link to IRS feature because of your 2011 tax filing and/or marital status, and your 2012-13 FAFSA is selected for Verification, you will be required to submit the following documentation to verify your reported FAFSA income data:

Status

Required Income Verification for Tax Filers

Married Filing Separately

2011 Federal IRS Tax Return Transcript for BOTH tax filers.

Married Filing Head of Household

2011 Federal IRS Tax Return Transcript. 

Filed or Will File Amended Return

2011 Federal IRS Amended Tax Return Transcript *and* 2011 IRS Tax Account Transcript.

Filed Puerto Rican Tax Return

Signed copy of the 2011 Puerto Rican Tax Return.

Filed Foreign Tax Return

Signed copy of the 2011 Foreign Tax Return
 

Marital Status Changed for period January 1, 2011 through May 11, 2013.  This may include one of the following:

Parent of a dependent student whose income is used in the calculation of the applicant's Expected Family Contribution (EFC) if the parent filed a joint income tax return and the parent is married to someone other than the individual included on the joint income tax return.
  • Parents' joint 2011 Federal IRS Tax Return Transcript
  • IRS Form W-2 for each source of employment income received for tax year 2011
  • Step-parent 2011 Federal IRS Tax Return Transcript

Parent of a dependent student whose income is used in the calculation of the applicant's Expected Family Contribution (EFC) if the parent filed a joint income tax return and the parent is separated, divorced, or  a widow of the individual included on the joint income tax return.
  • Parents' joint 2011 Federal IRS Tax Return Transcript
  • IRS Form W-2 for each source of employment income received for tax year 2011.

Independent student who filed a joint income tax return and who is married to someone other than the individual included on the joint income tax return.
  • Student joint 2011 Federal IRS Tax Return Transcript
  • IRS Form W-2 for each source of employment income received for tax year 2011 
  • 2011 Federal IRS Tax Return Transcript for spouse

Independent student who filed a joint income tax return and who is separated, divorced or a widow of the individual included on the joint income tax return.
  • Student joint 2011 Federal IRS Tax Return Transcript
  • IRS Form W-2 for each source of employment income received for tax year 2011

IRS Tax Return Transcript Request Process

The best way to verifiy income is by using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool that is part of FAFSA on the Web.  If you have not already used the tool, go to www.FAFSA.ed.gov, login to your FAFSA record, select "Make FAFSA Corrections", and navigate to the Financial Information section of the form.  From there, follow the instructions to determine if you are eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer your 2011 Federal income tax information to your FAFSA.  It takes up to two weeks for IRS income information to be available for the IRS Data Retrieval Tool for electronic IRS tax return filers, and up to eight weeks for paper IRS tax return filers.  If you need more information about when, or how to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, see your Financial Aid Coordinator.

If you are unable or choose not to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool in FAFSA on the Web, you must submit a 2011 Federal Income Tax Return Transcript - not a photocopy of the income tax return.  The Free IRS Tax Return Transcript can be requested in one of three ways:

Request Online

  1. Go to www.IRS.gov
  2. Click on the "Order a Return or Account Transcript" link.  It is free - you do not need to pay for it.
  3. Enter the tax filer's social security number, date of birth, street address and zip code.  Use the address that was listed on the latest tax return filed.
  4. Make sure to request the Free IRS Tax Return Transcript not the IRS Tax Account Transcript.

Request by Telephone

  1. Call the IRS at 1-800-908-9946.
  2. Follow prompts to enter the tax filer's social security number and the numbers in the street address.  Generally, this will be the numbers of the street address that was listed on the latest tax return filed.
  3. Select "Option 2" to request an IRS Tax Return Transcript and then enter "2011".

Request by Paper

  1. Download IRS Form 4506T-EZ at www.IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506tez.pdf
  2. Complete lines 1-4, following the instructions on page 2 of the form.  Note that line 3 should be the most current address on file with the IRS.  This is the address where the IRS Tax Return Transcript will be sent.  If the address has recenlty changed, include the address listed on the lastest tax return filed on line 4.
  3. Line 5 provides tax filers with the option to have their IRS Tax Return Transcript mailed directly to a third party by the IRS.
  4. Enter "2011" on line 6 to receive IRS tax information on the 2011 tax year that is required for the 2012-2013 FAFSA.
  5. The tax filers must sign and date the form and enter their telephone number.  Only one signature is required to request a transcript for a joint return.
  6. Mail or fax the completed IRS Form 4506T-EZ to the appropriate address or fax number provided on page 2 of Form 4506T-EZ.

Processing Form 4506T-EZ means verifying/validating the information provided on the form.  If any information does not match the IRS records, the IRS will notify the tax filer that it was not able to provide the transcript.  If successfully validated, tax filers can expect to receive a paper IRS Tax Return Transcript, at the adderss included in their request, with 5 to 10 days from the time the request was successfully transmitted to the IRS.