Last minute school wants tax transcript. I'm out of college.

<p>I’m trying to figure out if you can go to your local IRS office and ask for a transcript in person. I could bring my copy of the tax return printed out? What is this account transcript?</p>

<p>Call them and ask, but I don’t think they’ll be able to give you a transcript if your return that you mailed hasn’t been received and processed yet. But maybe you’ll get lucky.</p>

<p>Were you definitely <em>required</em> to file a tax return based on your income or were you only doing it so you could get a transcript for verification?</p>

<p>They assume you filed your taxes at lest by oct deadline. If youmhad then the two weeks was a reasonable timeline.</p>

<p>After we did fafsa we had to be verified and we got transcript to school in about two days. The school is working under the assumption you are doing taxes according to IRS requirements. And accordingly using IRS timelines as their own.</p>

<p>Apples…the issue is the LATENESS of your tax filing, not the requirement the school is following. If you had filed your tax return in a timely fashion, you would NOT be having any of these issues at all. </p>

<p>To others reading this thread…if you are applying for financial aid, DO YOUR TAXES as soon as possible after February 1. Do not wait until April 15, and do not file for an extension. And do NOT file late. If you are selected for verification in the spring, you MUST have a completed and filed tax return as part of that verification process. Until your verification is completed, you will NOT be given federally funded need bases aid by any school.</p>

<p>Deadlines for taxes are quite critical in this process…as can be evidenced by the OPs difficulties now.</p>

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<p>As stated previously, you need an official copy of your return and you can’t get one until your return is processed. Going to your local IRS office won’t help you.</p>

<p>I am also wondering about whether or not OP was required to file. In that case, every school I know simply has you sign a non-filer form - no tax transcript or account transcript required. I would think an account transcript would do the trick if the student was not required to file … that would show the income (or lack thereof), and the non-filer form with that should work. I would think that could be faxed to you right now (call the tax transcript number & hit 0 until you get a live person). Schools need to figure out a way to help non-filers better understand requirements. IF applesforall did not need to file, things should have been able to be taken care of with a non-filer form right off the bat.</p>

<p>So, apples … how much did you earn, and was it all W2 income (or was some from self-employment)?</p>

<p>I’m HOPING that she didn’t really need to file, because that’s probably the only scenario in which she can get this settled really quickly.</p>

<p>Apples - the critical question here is whether you were required to file. If you were not required to file, you still don’t have to (though you might want to if you’re entitled to a refund).</p>

<p>See filing requirements here: [Publication</a> 554 (2011), Tax Guide for Seniors](<a href=“Publication 554 (2022), Tax Guide for Seniors | Internal Revenue Service”>Publication 554 (2022), Tax Guide for Seniors | Internal Revenue Service) </p>

<p>If you were not required to file, you can get an account transcript from the IRS to show your income, and that you didn’t have to file. If you did have to file, you have to wait for the IRS to process your return. That would have been expedited if you had filed on time (either by April 15, or even by October 15, when e-file was still available). Since you waited until e-file was no longer available, you next best bet would have been to make an appointment at your local IRS office, and hand carry your return to them for expedited processing. </p>

<p>Ultimately it comes down to filing paperwork in a timely manner. When applying to colleges, this mean not only getting your application in on time, and test scores and transcripts sent, but also completing all financial aid paperwork, and filing your taxes on time. Please, file your 2012 taxes as soon as you can, so this doesn’t happen again.</p>

<p>I just reread your original post, and it seems that they didn’t really just spring this on you. You were selected for verification in the fall, and you didn’t follow through. If you had submitted your tax return to the IRS in August, when this all started, you certainly would have been able to get a transcript in time for the spring semester. Why didn’t you file then?</p>