Posted Date:March 1, 2013
| Author: | Jeff Baker, Director, Policy Liaison and Implementation, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Acceptable IRS Documentation for 2013-2014 Award Year Verification
Working with our colleagues at the IRS we have developed, and have attached to this Electronic Announcement, general guidance on when tax filers can expect that their 2012 tax return information will be available for the FAFSA on the Web IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) and for requesting IRS Tax Return Transcripts for purposes of completing verification for the 2013-2014 award year.
We remind institutions that as provided in the July 12, 2012, Federal Register notice and in Dear Colleague Letter GEN-12-11, the documentation required to verify tax return information must be obtained from the IRS by either the tax filer’s use of the FAFSA on the Web IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) or from an IRS Tax Return Transcript. As we had previously announced, we do not anticipate providing a temporary alternative for meeting 2013-2014 verification requirements as was provided for the 2012-2013 award year in Dear Colleague Letter GEN-12-07 published on April 16, 2012.
In addition, we want to inform institutions that the special provision for tax filers who are unable to use the IRS DRT or to obtain an IRS Tax Return Transcript that we announced in a November 2, 2012 Electronic Announcement applied only to 2011 tax returns needed for 2012-2013 award year verification. We will consider whether a similar provision is necessary following the end of 2012 tax return processing and will announce any decision later in the year.
We thank you for sharing in our commitment of maintaining the integrity of the Title IV, HEA financial aid programs. We will continue to provide updates as needed.