I was chosen for verification for previous financial aid which I have already received.
Does your school check with the IRS to see if you file a tax return? Or do the school just cross-reference with the FAFSA application?
If you have been selected for verification, your school,will give you specifics on what they want to have sent to them.
If they are questioning your tax return, they will request an IRS transcript of your return to verify that what you put on your return was accurate.
In addition, the school will look to see if there are inconsistencies between what is ON that tax return, and other portions of your financial aid application.
For example, if your parents are married, and they filed taxes as single, that would be questioned.
On the FAFSA, I said I did not file for tax return. If on the verification, I also said I did not file for tax return. Would my school check with the IRS?
If you did not file a tax return and you were not required to file a tax return,…you need to complete a non-filers statement.
If I file a non-filer statement, does the school double check it? Or you do not know?
Why are you asking this? If you are being honest about whether you needed to file taxes, it shouldn’t matter at all if the school verifies your status with the IRS regulations.
I agree with @thumper1 … why are you asking? Be honest when you file for aid.
Dishonesty will lead not only to loss of financial aid but also criminal charges.
If you are selected for verification, YOU must get the forms from the IRS (statement of non-filing or a tax transcript). Others, including your school, cannot get these documents from the IRS. If you didn’t file, you didn’t file. The school has no way of knowing if you should have filed, the school is just verifying the information you provided including your parent’s filing transcript and your statement of non-filing.
You probably won’t get “criminal charges”, but if you get caught cheating, you’ve probably already signed a contract that says you agree that you’d have to pay the aid back if you’ve given false information. And yes, they will send you to collections and .it will follow you until it’s paid.
Do yourself a favor and be 100% honest. Better to catch mistakes now, than later. You’re new to all this…you can plead young and stupid. You still might be on the hook for some money, but it’s probably less than you think.
What would the school be cross referencing the FAFSA with if not your tax return? Your statement that what you filed was true? Verification requires outside sources. The non filer’s statement comes from the IRS; you don’t just get to say you didn’t file.
It sounds like you filed a tax return and told the college that you didn’t. Lying to receive federal aid is fraud. You can be charged and be required to repay all the money you received. And the school could expel you for it if they wanted.
If you filed a tax return, just update your information. You may end up owing money, but if you’re low income you might not. Risking fraud charges and expulsion for any reason is shortsighted; risking it for no net gain is beyond foolish.