Verification

IRS DATA RETRIEVAL TOOL 

The IRS Data Retrieval Tool has been suspended for  the 2017/2018 aid year.  Therefore, as of April 24, 2017, we may accept SIGNED taxpayer copies of Federal tax returns and the Certification of Non-Filing form for 2017/2018 verification requirements.

Please also note that effective October 1, 2017, the IRS Data Retrieval Tool was made available for the 2018/2019 aid year.  We highly encourage families to link their federal taxes to the 2018/2019 FAFSA.  We are not permitted to accept SIGNED taxpayer copies of Federal tax return for 2018/2019 verification requirements. 

Some students, upon completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), are selected for a review process called verification. Verification helps the school to confirm that the information filed on the FAFSA matches the income taxes filed in the prior year with the IRS and to verify the following:

  • Household size
  • Number in college
  • Untaxed income
  • Child support paid

If your FAFSA has been selected for verification, you will be notified of this on your Student Aid Report (SAR), from the Central Processor, and by your school of choice.

Failure to comply with verification will result in no federal or state aid being funded to you.

If you link your tax information from the IRS directly to the FAFSA, thereby ensuring the figures are accurate, and if no changes are made to the imported information, the requirement to supply tax information to the University will be waived.

However, if you are unable to link your IRS data to the FAFSA (you filed taxes as “married filing separately,” “head of household,” or some other reason) or you adjust the data that is imported, you will be required to obtain a “TAX RETURN TRANSCRIPT” directly from the IRS. We will not accept copies of your individual returns from your tax preparer or accounting software.

Watch the YouTube tutorial to learn how to link your taxes prior to attempting this update on the FAFSA.

  • Parents with all zeroes for SSN
  • Students using an 888 identifier in place of an SSN (Pacific Islanders)
  • Students or parents with a marital status date of January 1 of the current year
  • Students or parents who indicate they have not already filed a tax return or will not file a tax return in response to the “Have [you, your parent] completed [your, their] IRS income tax return or another tax return?” FAFSA question
  • Students or parents with a marital status of Married whose last year's federal tax filing status was “married filing separately” or “head of household”
  • Students or parents who filed a foreign (or Puerto Rican) tax return
  • Students or parents who has not paid their taxes owed or received any refund due. You must pay your tax debt in order for your return to be 100% processed by the IRS.

 

Mail/Paper Form: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506t.pdf

  • Complete lines 1-4 using instruction on page 2 of the form
  • Line 5 allows for direct mailing of transcript to third party (school)
  • Select the appropriate year on line 6
  • Check box 7 for Verification of nonfiling letter
  • Tax filer must sign and date the form (only one signature required for joint filers)
  • Mail or fax the form using the information on page 2
  • As of April 24, 2017- can accept Certification of Non-Filing form for 17/18 (2015 income for parent and student).

Online: http://irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript

  • “Get Transcript Online” - immediate print OR
  • “Get Transcript by Mail”
  • Enter personal information - continue
  • Select “Return Transcript” under Type of Transcript field
  • Select the correct tax year

Telephone: 1-800-908-9946

  • Follow prompts and input information as requested
  • Select “Option 2” to request a Tax Return Transcript
  • Enter the correct tax year
  • Confirmation will be given once the process is complete

Mail/Paper Form: www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506tez.pdf

  • Complete lines 1-4 using instruction on page 2 of the form
  • Line 5 allows for direct mailing of transcript to third party (school)
  • Select the appropriate year on line 6
  • Tax filer must sign and date the form (only one signature required for joint filers)
  • Mail or fax the form using the information on page 2

 

If you think the information contained or captured on the FAFSA at the time of submitting does not accurately reflect your current ability to pay, please contact the Shippensburg University Financial Aid office at (717) 477-1131 to discuss any potential changes to the FAFSA.

 ***IMPORTANT***

Additional information or documentation may be requested at the discretion of the verification officer. You must comply with all requests in order to receive aid.