Using your Tax Information for FAFSA
Using your Tax Information for FAFSA; article by Editor at www.schoolloan.org
Beginning in the summer of 2010, federal tax returns forms will be of great importance for many FAFSA filers. If you pointed out on your submission that you had previously filed your income tax return, then a pop screen will display a massage showing “View your IRS Information”.
The first procedure is that you must enter your financial aid PIN number. Then a link will be displayed for you to download the information from the IRS. You can also ignore this alternative and enter your personal information yourself.
If you choose to go to the IRS web site, you will be cautioned that you are about to leave the federal aid website. Consequently a new page will display the IRS web page, where you are required to place your tax identification information (your name, SSN address, birth date and filing category) in order to sign in.
Immediately after validation, you will notice your displayed tax information. Consequently, there will be checkbox requesting you if you wish to relocate your information into your FAFSA. You can then click on the “transfer now” link and the FAFSA window will open up again with all of your tax information filled in.
You are at an advantage when you use this option because it eliminates the possibility of placing the wrong numbers in the wrong boxes. This will delay your FAFSA reimbursement.
You can also decide to print out the information before you sign out of the IRS web site. Any changed information will be noted after it is moved to the FAFSA. It works in a manner that computer transferred information will be marked as “transferred from the IRS.”
Qualifications to Transfer Federal Tax Forms
Not everyone is eligible to transfer their tax return information from the IRS. You must have submitted your FAFSA online and you must have a FAFSA PIN.
You are also required to have a legal Social Security Number. You must be able to show your marital status as per the tax year and not the day you were filling out the financial aid submission. You must also indicate that you filed the tax returns for the preceding years.
Failure to meet these conditions will cause you to lose the right to use data transferring. It might allow you to transfer some of the information and enter the rest manually, such as, if you are married and file separately on your taxes. Applicants often use this attribute but forget to manually enter the missing information.
In addition, some data will be missing if you had filed your tax return in Puerto Rico. You might also have information missing or incorrect if you filed a revised return and the revised edition isn’t in the IRS system yet.
Can Anyone Fill Your FAFSA Form
You can not have anyone, even your parents or spouse, fill out your FAFSA form on your behalf. They can only file the form for you if they are listed as preparers. A preparer is not required whatsoever to know your PIN.
If your PIN is obtained by anyone, then you are exposed to:
Anyone can sign into your Federal Student Aid Account
Anyone can obtain your personal records and documents
Keep in mind that FAFSA is a free application, and there are numerous tools to help you in filling it out correctly. Visit the Department of Education’s official website for the FAFSA.
Tags: fafsa, financial aid, tax