Federal Verification Worksheet

Verification is a process in which information on a student’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is reviewed by a school for accuracy and completeness. Each year, the federal Department of Education selects a percentage of all FAFSA’s for verification. The verification process requires the Student Finance Office (SFO) to confirm the data supplied by the applicant.

Your Student Aid Report (SAR) will indicate whether or not your form has been selected for verification. The SAR may be accessed via a link sent to you by the Department of Education after you file your FAFSA. If you are selected for verification, there will be an asterisk* next to your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) figure on your SAR. You will also receive notification via Husky Email from the Student Finance Office requesting additional information.

All students selected for verification must complete a Verification Worksheet (see printable document below) In addition, new federal regulations require that either the FAFSA be updated by the student on-line using the FAFSA IRS Data Retrieval* tool (if this tool was not used when filing the FAFSA) OR the student must request an official tax return transcript from the IRS and submit it with all W-2's. This may be done by calling the IRS (1-800-908-9946), requesting one online (www.irs.gov) , or by completing and mailing Form 4506-T (Request for Transcript of Tax Return) to the IRS. (Be sure to select the “Return Transcript” option.) Further information about IRS tax return transcripts may be found at www.irs.gov. If a student used the FAFSA IRS Data Retrieval tool when completing the FAFSA and did not make changes on the FAFSA after filing, no further action is required unless the student filed an amended tax return since filing the FAFSA.

If you and/or your spouse did not and will not file 2011 federal tax returns, please complete the 2011 Statement of Non-Filing under the forms tab on the web site and include all 2011 W-2 forms. If you have an extension for filing your 2011 federal tax return, you must provide the Student Finance Office with a copy of the 2011 IRS Form 4868 along with 2011 W-2’s. Once the tax return has been filed, a copy of the IRS tax transcript must be requested and submitted to this office.

*1) The IRS Data Retrieval tool is available within 2 weeks after a return is filed electronically.

2) Taxpayers who do not file electronically (hard copy is mailed to the IRS) will not be able to use the IRS Data Retrieval tool for 6-8 weeks.

3) The IRS Data Retrieval tool may not be used under the following circumstances:

a) when a married student and his/her spouse filed separate tax returns;

b) when a student and, if applicable, his/her spouse filed an amended return.

You can download the verification worksheet with this link.