Tax Filing Extension Students and parents who have been granted a tax filing extension need to present a copy of IRS Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. A copy of their W-2 forms must also be provided, or if they are self-employed, a signed statement with the amount of their AGI and their U.S. income taxes paid. The school may request the use of the DRT or a tax transcript to be submitted after the return has been filed, in which case, income information must be re-verified. Non-Tax Filers Non-tax filers must receive a W-2 form for each source of employment income. A signed statement must also be obtained providing the sources and amounts of the person’s income earned apart from W-2s and certifying that the person has not filed and is not required to file a tax return. Residents of the Pacific Islands Residents of the Freely Associated States (the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, or the Federated States of Micronesia), must provide a copy of the wage and tax statement from each employer and a signed statement identifying all of the person’s income and taxes for the year. 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 documented. They must use the income and tax information that most closely corresponds to the information on the IRS tax return, and convert the appropriate monetary amounts into U.S. dollars.
Electronic Signatures On the few occasions that a tax return was used to complete verification, 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 unsuccessful, 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. Because the IRS does not send written confirmation of the failure of a transcript request using the telephone, there is no documentation 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 documentation. 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 verification 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.
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