Financial Aid Policies
Person from a Foreign Country Not Required to File a Tax Form Persons from a foreign country who are not required to file a tax return can provide the signed statement certifying their income and taxes paid. Missing W-2 Forms If a person who is required to provide a W-2 form cannot do it timely, you may be permitted to submit a signed statement with the amount of the income earned from work, the source of that income, and the reason the W-2 form is not available in time. Persons Filing Foreign Taxes When a person filed a non-U.S. tax return, obtaining an IRS tax return transcript is not possible. In those cases, instead of the transcript, you may accept a copy of the tax return, which must be signed by one of the filers of a joint return, and the circumstances must be document- ed. They must use the income and tax information that most closely corresponds to the information on the IRS tax return, and convert the On the few occasions that a tax return was used to complete verifi- cation, your school can accept an electronic copy of the return that has been electronically signed provided your school’s process for accepting such signatures complies with the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act. A signature on Form 8879, the IRS e-file Signature Authorization, is not an acceptable substitute for a signature on the tax return. Tax Preparers For persons who have a tax professional prepare their return, instead of a copy of the return with the filer’s signature, your FAO may accept one that has the name and Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) of the preparer or has his SSN or EIN and has been signed, stamped, typed, or printed with his name and address. Note that the IRS requires paid preparers to have a PTIN. When a Tax Return Transcript is Unavailable When the tax filer requests an IRS tax return transcript and is unsuc- cessful, a person can use a signed copy of the 2018 tax return (Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ) for verification. A person must also provide your school with one of the following: (see next page) If a person tried to get the transcript using the paper form 4506-T or 4506T-EZ, a copy of the response (which a person must sign) mailed to her informing him/her that the IRS could not provide the transcript; or • If a person tried to get the transcript using the Internet, a signed copy of a screen print from the official IRS webpage showing a message that the transcript request was unsuccessful. • If a person tried to get the transcript using the Internet, a signed copy of a screen print from the official webpage showing a message that the transcript request was unsuccessful. appropriate monetary amounts into U.S. dollars. Electronic Signatures on Tax Returns Because the IRS does not send written confirmation of the failure of a transcript request using the telephone, there is no documenta- tion alternative for that method. Affected tax filers must request a tax return transcript using either the online or paper method and, if unsuccessful, provide your school with the above noted documenta-
tion. In addition to the documentation already specified, the tax filer must also provide your school with a completed and signed IRS Form 4506-T or 4506T-EZ that includes on line 5 the name, address, and telephone number of your school as the third party to whom the IRS is to mail the tax return transcript. If your school has no reasonable doubt about the accuracy of the information on the copy of the tax return, your school should proceed with verification and simply place the 4506 form in the student’s file rather than sending it to the IRS. However, if your school has a reason to believe that the information on the tax return may not be accurate, your school must, before veri- fication can be completed, send the Form 4506-T or 4506T-EZ to the IRS and wait for the return of the transcript or confirmation from the IRS that a transcript is not available for that tax filer. Request a Tax Transcript There are a few ways to request a tax transcript: online at www.irs. gov, by calling 1-800-908-9946, or by mailing or faxing the paper Form 4506T-EZ, which can be printed out from the IRS website on www.ifap.ed.gov for specific instructions. Filing an Amended Return Students or parents who file an amended return cannot use the IRS DRT, and if they amend the return after using the DRT to fill out the FAFSA, the FAO cannot rely on that data. Instead, you will need to use information from these documents to complete verification: 1. a signed copy of the IRS Form 1040X that was filed and 2. a signed copy of the original tax return that was filed, a tax return transcript (which does not have to be signed), or any IRS transcript (such as a return transcript for taxpayer or RTFTP) that includes all the income and tax information required to be verified: AGI, income tax paid, education credits, etc. Household Size To document the household size, the student needs to provide a signed statement and, if dependent, at least one parent that gives the name, age, and relationship to the student of each person in the household. You don’t have to verify household size in the following situations: • For a dependent student, the household size reported is three for married parents or two for a single, divorced, separated, or widowed parent. • For an independent student, the household size reported is two if he is married or one if he is single, divorced, separated, or widowed.Number of Members Household Attending College If there are multiple members of a student’s household in college, this must be verified by a statement signed by the student (and, if he/she is a dependent, at least one parent). This state must provide the name and age of each member of the household who is enrolled at least part-time in an eligible college (excludes the parents of dependent students) and the name of each college. This statement can also be used to document household size. Completion of the Financial Aid Department’s verification can satisfy both items. The school may request a statement from the reported schools that the named person/s will attend there on at least a part-time basis. This statement will not be necessary if the person(s) has (have) not yet registered, is (are) attending less than part-time, or will be attending the same school requesting the statement. To ensure that the reported school(s) is (are) Title IV eligible, a Federal School Code may
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