<p>I called the FAFSA office with a question. The man who answered was very helpful and also told me that everything looked like it had processed correctly and I should log back in on the 3rd to use the IRS Retrieval tools. I already received notice that my tax return has been processed. Then he told me that I had been selected for verification. What does that mean?</p>
<p>It means that certain things on the return need to be verified. The financial aid office will send you a list of what they want. I was verified last year and they asked some questions which I answered, asking me how much my son made and if he filed taxes, I gave them the amount from his w-2 and said no, he did not because he had no withholding and did not make enough to have to file. They also wanted a signed copy of my tax return but this was before the IRS retrieval too was in effect. There may have been some other questions, but nothing onerous. I was told that at that school all OOS students were verified. It took me very little time to answer the questions I did call and make sure that someone got the info I sent in and I spoke with the person as well. </p>
<p>Verification can mean any number of things from something you left off the FAFSA, any mistake, or a request for some statement or other. I know someone whose student’s selective service status was a flag. He had not registered at the time FAFSA was filed because he was not 18 yet at that time. Verification is not an audit which is more extensive and intensive.</p>
<p>This <a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid; will give you more information about verification. The retrieval tool is supposed to end verification requests, but my guess is that this new system has glitches and they want to get moving on your package and are therefore asking you to provide the info instead of waiting for the IRS to get this thing working. This verification thing is new, and I don’t expect it to work all that well at first so I’m not surprised.</p>
<p>Okay. I feel better. I thought maybe I did something really wrong when I filed. I did double /triple check the numbers when I filed the FAFSA with my actual tax return numbers. I caught one mistake that I had made when I originally filed the FAFSA with a will file status. This could be the reason as the number was significantly different.</p>
<p>Thanks for the link! :)</p>
<p>Verification is changing this year. The feds are using algorithms to identify certain things, and schools are only required to collect information related to the particular thing that prompted selection for verification. Schools can still collect more info, of course, but most are not going to rush to look at more things than they need to. So … this means that you won’t really know what you were selected for … and won’t know what they will ask for. Just wait & the school(s) will let you know.</p>
<p>Some items that may be requested:
- Income info - You will need to submit tax info and verification of untaxed income (if you do the IRS transfer, you will only need to submit the verification of untaxed income). You would need to submit a non tax filer statement & copies of any W-2’s for the non filer, if student and/or parent is a non filer.
- Household size and number in college
- Child support paid
- Verification of SNAP - if you said you received money from food programs (used to be called food stamps), you may be asked to verify the amount of money received.
- IDENTITY AND STATEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE - I put this in caps because it is new & very different. Students selected will have to prove their identity IN PERSON (if too far away, they will have to provide a notarized statement of identity) and a signed (in person or notarized) statement that all aid will be used for educational purposes. It has to do with identity theft. I just went to a conference & a couple schools said they have seen quite a few incoming freshmen selected for this.
- You might also be asked to submit items from more than one of the above - there are a couple verification selection groups that include items from 2 or 3 groups.</p>
<p>As I said, this is different, so we’ll all have to see who gets asked for what. Should be interesting.</p>
<p>Has this verification info changed?</p>
<p>Mominizer, as I said earlier, we were selected for verification just last year, and the items that were requested were not any of what Kelsmom listed, other than my son’s w2. He just worked over the summer and did not make enough to owe taxes and did not withhold so did not file, and he stated this, and gave a copy of his w2. We were asked for a copy of our actual tax return that they wanted signed, but the retrieval tool,if it’s working should make this unnecessary.</p>
<p>We were asked recently to “prove” ourselves on DH’s health care insurance, by the way, and I had to send in my marriage certificate, a photocopy of my driver’s license, a copy of a joint account to show that we were indeed married and still together, and a note from each of our kids schools that they did indeed exist and were going there. Apparently there is a lot of insurance fraud out there where people have folks on their insurance that are no longer eligible.</p>
<p>Thanks, cpt. H and I are both self-employed, and H receives 40-ish 1099s (consultant, many small jobs). Estimating income after expenses is always tricky for us. My best guesses are sometimes far afield.</p>