I am being alerted that I have to send in 3 things
Parents verification of 2014 tax info (no idea what to do with this)
Students verification of 2014 tax info (Didn’t file so I gotta fill out this form to confirm, no problem)
Proof I am dependent on my mother (long file making me re-enter almost everything on fafsa, also having to list assets now where before I didn’t have to because of being in a auto zero efc household)
First question is why do they need this if I filled out the 2015-2016 fafsa? I feel like I am just re-doing it on 3 different forms. Very annoying.
Second question is what do I do for my mom’s verification of 2014 tax info? Here are the directions from the site:
You are required to provide verification of your parent(s) 2014 tax information.
Tax filers have two options.
(In order to use either of these options, the tax return must have already been received AND processed by the IRS.)
“”"The IRS Data Retrieval Tool in the online FAFSA application is the fastest, easiest, most secure method of providing the required tax verification. You may log in to your FAFSA at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov and submit a correction to use the IRS Retrieval Tool. (There are certain circumstances in which your parent(s) are not eligible to use the IRS retrieval such as when your parents filed separate tax returns(if married), your parents’ marital status has changed after December 31, 2014, or your parent(s) filed an amended tax return.)
If your parent(s) is ineligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, changed the information after it was retrieved, or chose not to use it, you are required to submit an IRS Tax Return transcript. Your parent(s) can request the tax transcript by going to http://www.irs.gov and clicking on Get Transcript for My Tax Records under the Tools menu. Be sure to select the Tax Return transcript for the 2014 year (the Tax Account transcript is not sufficient). Your parent(s) can choose to get the transcript online or by mail. Please submit a signed copy of the transcript to the Office of Student Financial Assistance.
(Copies of tax returns are no longer acceptable according to federal regulations.)
If your parent(s) were not required to file a tax return, have amended the tax return, or filed an extension, please complete the Parent Tax Filing Statement for 2014 Taxes, which can be downloaded from http://finaid.ucf.edu/loans/aggregate.html under 2015-2016 Forms. Instruction is provided on the form for additional documentation that will be required."""
I will be a freshman there next year. I’m typically a pretty smart dude but this stuff is flying right over my head and my mom isn’t of any help. Any help is much appreciated.
Did your Mom file a 2014 tax return and if so when? If so, have you tried using the Data Retrieval Tool for your mom? It’s what you should try first. Log in to your fafsa. If you haven’t already, change her tax filing status to already completed and a link should appear to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.
Alrighty, I think i’m starting to get it. I’ll just have to try to use the IRS tool after school today. I’m pretty sure my mom filed as married filing together but my father passed away right at the the beginning of the year so its making the taxes all screwy.
Sorry for the loss of your father. Did he pass before you filed fafsa the first time? What marital status did you use for your mom on the fafsa? Did he have income in 2014? You could contact the school and see if there is any professional judgement that applies here.
He passed 01-26. Taxes filed on 02-04. Fafsa filed 02-26. She filed jointly but he was properly marked as deceased and had no other info on him on the taxes (so no income). When I do the “married-filed joint return” I don’t get an option to do the IRS tool, but if I click any of the other options it says she is not eligible for using the data retrieval tool.
I think the problem is this:
for 2014 tax purposes, your mom (correctly) filed as married filing jointly.
However, by the date the FAFSA was filed, your dad had already passed away, and so your mom’s marital status is widowed, since it is the marital status as of the date of the FAFSA.
This creates a mismatch, and I can imagine that the Data Retrieval Tool might not work in that circumstance even though it isn’t one of the itemized can’t do’s.
What I would do:
Reach out to the financial aid office, and explain that your dad died in January 2015, and that while your parents’ 2014 taxes were filed with a married, filing jointly status, your mom’s marital status at the time the FAFSA was filed was widowed, and this is preventing use of the Data Retrieval Tool for verification. Would they prefer a tax transcript, or some other approach to verifying your mother’s FAFSA information?
If your dad had income in 2014, the college may want a worksheet that shows only your mom’s portion of that income.
Since the mismatch is preventing the use of the Retrieval tool, you can download a .pdf of the Transcript at http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-Transcript. Your mom will need to create an account and you can move forward from there with getting the transcript.
Did your mom choose widowed for her marital status on fafsa? That may be a problem in that generally it would conflict with married filing jointly. Except in your case it’s a legit combination. But the DRT may not be able to handle it. You could call the FAFSA hotline or you may have to go the tax return transcript route.
I’m not so sure putting deceased on the 2014 tax return was correct since he passed in 2015. Your mom should be able to file taxes married filing jointly for 2015 too.
Oh shoot, forgot to clarify. Dad’s death was January of 2014, taxes filed and fafsa February 2015. I agree the confusion probably lies in that she is considered widowed on the fafsa yet she still filed jointly as married. I’m unsure why she did her taxes as married, she even had an accountant helping her so maybe it was the correct thing.
I’ll email UCF’s fin aid office and explain the situation. I already have a 1040, but I guess if they need that transcript I will download it and have her fill it out.
I have manually filled out (printed out and done by hand) both my dependency verification form and the form to say that I will not be filing 2014 taxes. I also have printed copies of my mother’s w2 and 1040. Fafsa says my mother in unable to use the IRS data retrieval tool for whatever reason.
I figure I can turn in the 2 forms through the file upload system but how do I send in the w2 and tax return? Here are the instructions for sending in my mother’s tax info, but I can’t figure out what it is trying to say: Please submit a signed copy of the transcript to the Office of Student Financial Assistance. (Copies of tax returns are no longer acceptable according to federal regulations.)
Seems like these two statements contradict themselves. I don’t see any place to sign the tax return copy either. Also, I live 8 hours away so I can’t drop it off. What do I do to send in my mother’s 1040 to you to fulfill the Parents verification of 2014 tax info? Also, what do I do for the tax info and w2 that have to be included with the other forms?
Second email:
I’d like to clarify that the tax info I am referencing is the 1040. If there is some other tax form that is required please let me know.
I think the confusion is that my mother is listed as widowed on the fafsa yet she filed jointly as married. My father passed Jan 2014, and the taxes and fafsa were completed Feb 2015. My father is properly listed as deceased, but still I don’t think the IRS is recognizing her as widowed because of how she filed in 2014. She had an accountant help her so I don’t believe she did it improperly.
Anything else I need to include? Hopefully they can answer all my questions and I can be done with this by tomorrow. So tired of tax nonsense.
If you cannot get the Data Retrieval Tool to work, the only other option will be to download the transcript at IRS.gov. The financial aid office will not be able to accept your 1040 return, as they mention in this statement: “Please submit a signed copy of the transcript to the Office of Student Financial Assistance. (Copies of tax returns are no longer acceptable according to federal regulations.)”
Just to clarify the taxes, there are tax benefits that are gained by filing married filing jointly, so that’s why the accountant had her do that. Unless she remarries, she should be able to file as a qualifying widow the next 2 tax years which also has some tax benefits associated with that status.