AVOID ‘VERIFICATION’

Schools require that the student/parent tax information be linked to the FAFSA after the taxes have been accepted by the IRS. It can take 1-3 weeks to be able to link the taxes after submitting them. If you did not link your taxes with Cash for College staff, you can go back in and link them on your own or call us for help.

If your taxes are not linked by your school’s financial aid deadline it is very likely that you will get pulled for VERIFICATION by your school.

 If you are a dependent student, you will need to link both parent and your (student) taxes to your FAFSA.  If you are an independent student, you will only need to link your taxes to your FAFSA.

Instructions for using IRS Retrieval in your FAFSA: This is the preferred method by schools

Log in to your FAFSA account at www.fafsa.gov  Select the FAFSA year you want to update & click Make FAFSA Corrections  Enter your 4-digit PIN & use the last 4 of your SSN as a password  Go to the Financial Information section  Indicate that you have Already Completed your taxes  If you can answer None of the Above to the list of questions, you may continue with the IRS Retrieval  Enter the required info (it must be exactly what you entered on your tax return) & click Submit, then opt to Transfer My Tax Information into the FAFSA  Click Next to review your changes to the FAFSA  Click Next to Sign the FAFSA with your 4-digit PIN & submit!

-OR-

Instructions for ordering a Tax Return Transcript Directly from the IRS: Use this method if you are unable to link your taxes via IRS Retrieval  Go to www.IRS.gov  Under Tools, click Get Transcript of your Tax Records  Either Order Online or Get Transcript by Mail  Enter the required info and follow directions  You want the Return Transcript  If By Mail: The transcript will be mailed to the address on your taxes so if you’ve moved, be careful!  If Online: print a few copies of the Tax Return Transcript, make sure you have written down your passwords for the system somewhere.  Turn the Tax Return Transcript into the financial aid office IN PERSON if possible.

Why isn’t this working? Common issues with linking your taxes or ordering a tax return transcript  Too recent—maybe your tax return hasn’t been accepted by the IRS yet. You may need to wait longer. You might be able to check ‘where’s my refund’ to track the status.  Amendment—if you filed an amendment you likely won’t be able to link or order a tax return transcript.  Owe Taxes—if you owe taxes, even if you’re on a payment plan, often you can’t link or order your tax return until your taxes are paid in full.  Address—the address has to be entered EXACTLY as it appears on the tax return (1040). Yes, Drive versus Dr. versus Dr does matter.  Filing Status—If there’s a discrepancy with your filing status, you might not be able to link your taxes to the FAFSA. For example, if you list on the FAFSA that you’re married, but you filed your taxes as single or head of household, you will have issues linking.

Last Resort: If you’re unsuccessful linking your taxes to your FAFSA and Ordering a Tax Return transcript on IRS.gov, you have 2 more options (see below). Do not wait too long to pursue other options. Deadlines are everything with financial aid.

1) Go in person to the local IRS building (825 E. Rundberg Ln. Austin, TX 78753) M-F 8:30am-4:30pm (512) 499-5127

2) Fill out form 4506-T and fax the request in