We filed our taxes and submitted the updated info to FAFSA for our 1st list of schools but we forgot all about the Data Retrieval Tool. Now what do we do? Will it delay us somehow? Do we need to go back and resubmit the FAFSA info using the tool?
Was your fafsa selected for verification? If so, using the tool usually satisfies most of the verification process. If not, using the tool is optional but still a good thing to do. The tool won’t be available to use until after the IRS processes your return. This time of year that will probably be within 10-14 days. You could go back then and use it and resubmit.
I don’t the data tool is up and running yet anyway. The FAFSA website said it would be available the first week of Feb.
The fafsa site says the tool became available today but no returns will have been processed by the IRS yet.
Thank You for the responses. I called the local College Planning Center and they said once the IRS processes our taxes we can go back into fafsa and resubmit all over again using the DRT. They said nothing will be affected our initial submit holds our places. They said around Feb 15 does that sound about right or too late?
Feb. 15 sounds like the date I read on the FAFSA site.
The fafsa site said the tool became available yesterday, but 2 weeks for the return to be processed sounds about right. That’s presuming you e-filed and didn’t owe any additional tax or you owed and paid it with your return.
Hopefully you can help me with the debate in our house. We filed our taxes online last week received our money back yesterday. We went back into fafsa to update but it didn’t offer us the data retrieval tool so we called help line. They told us we are not eligible to use the tool but they didn’t say why. Anyone have any ideas and has anyone else been denied if so do I wait till schools ask for more info or are there steps that I should be doing ahead of time?
Not sure if IRS is working on correcting this, but I have heard that one’s filing status can prevent the use of DRT. I want to say it might have been Head of Household…but I can’t remember.
If you are selected for verification and unable to use DRT, you can get a paper copy of your transcript at IRS.gov.
http://blog.collegeup.org/what-to-do-if-you-cant-use-the-irs-data-retrieval-tool-when-completing-your-fafsa
does this link shed any light on it? Note that it refers to 14/15 FAFSA
Thanks 4 sharing I will ck out the link.