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Verification

IRS DATA RETRIEVAL TOOL 

We highly encourage families to link their federal taxes to the 2022/2023 & 2023/2024 FAFSA.   

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 submit a signed copy of your Federal tax return.  We can accept signed 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.

 

Due to the IRS redacting personal information from these forms – name, social security number, etc. – under NO CIRCUMSTANCE should you request the IRS to send us any forms directly (third party). Please request the IRS send the forms to you for you to then forward to us once you have listed the student’s name and SUID number on the paperwork.  You can submit the documents via fax, scan and email (no pictures please), US postal mail or drop off in the FA office. Again, please be sure to list the student’s name and SUID number on all forms submitted to our office.

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) - DO NOT USE
  • Select the appropriate year on line 6
  • Check box 7 for Verification of nonfiling letter
  • Tax filer must sign, date the form, and check the box above the signature line (only one signature required for joint filers)
  • Mail or fax the form using the information on page 2

Due to the IRS redacting personal information from these forms – name, social security number, etc. – under NO CIRCUMSTANCE should you request the IRS to send us any forms directly (third party). Please request the IRS send the forms to you for you to then forward to us once you have listed the student’s name and SUID number on the paperwork.  You can submit the documents via fax, scan and email (no pictures please), US postal mail or drop off in the FA office. Again, please be sure to list the student’s name and SUID number on all forms submitted to our office.

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) - DO NOT USE
  • 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 income, submit the Special Circumstance Appeal Form located on the Financial Aid Forms page.  

Note that the school's decision is final and cannot be appealed to the U.S. Department of Education.

 

When a student has unusual circumstances that prevents them from obtaining parental information and did not answer “YES” to any of the dependency questions on the FAFSA, a Financial Aid Administrator can conduct a dependency override on a case-by-case basis.  However, none of the conditions listed below, singly or in combination, qualify as unusual circumstances meriting a dependency override.

Unusual circumstances DO NOT include:

  • Parents refuse to contribute to the student’s education.
  • Parents will not provide information for the FAFSA or verification.
  • Parents do not claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes.
  • Student demonstrates total self-sufficiency.

If none of these apply to your situation, submit the Unusual Circumstance (Dependency) Form

Contact the Financial Aid Office

101 Old Main, 1871 Old Main Drive, Shippensburg, PA 17257 Phone: 717-477-1131 Fax: (717) 477-4028
Fall & Spring Terms: Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM / Summer & Winter Terms: Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM