Attached to this Electronic Announcement is the 2023-2024 FAFSA Verification-IRS Tax Return Transcript Matrix that institutions can use for 2023-2024 verification of IRS tax return information included on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application.
Since the IRS Tax Return Transcript does not have line or item numbers and uses wording that may be different from what is used on the FAFSA, this matrix may help financial aid administrators map 2021 IRS Tax Return Transcript information to FAFSA/ISIR data. The first column of the matrix lists the six 2023-2024 FAFSA information items that, consistent with the July 8, 2022 Federal Register notice, may need to be verified for a student or parent who indicated that they did or will file a 2021 IRS tax return.
The second column displays the student and parent FAFSA question number for each item. The third column displays the student and parent ISIR item number. ISIR Field numbers are from the 2023-2024 Electronic Data Exchange (EDE) Technical Reference under the ISIR Record Description/Data Dictionary. The fourth column of the matrix is the item name as displayed on the IRS Tax Return Transcript. Note that for some items the transcript may display two or three values for an item. If only one value is displayed on the transcript, that value must be used for verification. If more than one value is displayed on the transcript, the value associated with the item name that includes the words “Per Computer” must be used for verification. The “Per Computer” line should be used for verification even if it is different than what was reported by the tax filer. The last column shows the corresponding line-item numbers from the 2021 IRS 1040 tax return.
Under provisions of the Higher Education Act (HEA), taxes and credits related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are not to be included in the amount of U.S. Taxes Paid that are used in the calculation of a student’s expected family contribution (EFC).
Finally, of significance to the 2023-2024 award year, the potential IRS 1040 tax return issues associated with 2020 and 2021 tax returns surrounding erroneous $1 AGIs, and the Post Unemployment Compensation Exclusion Adjustment—The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act should not affect 2021 IRS 1040 tax returns. Reference to both issues have been removed from the matrix. For more information on these previous issues please see the January 18, 2022 Electronic Announcement 2022-2023 IRS Tax Return Matrix.
Attachments
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2023-2024 FAFSA Verification-IRS Tax Return Transcript Matrix in Microsoft Excel, 39KB