The FAFSA’s (Free Application for Federal Students Aid) IRS Data Retrieval Tool is down until October 2017 according to The U.S. Department of Education.
The IRS Data Retrieval Tool allows for a direct, electronic transfer of processed tax information from the IRS into a FAFSA. Students and families who still need to complete the FAFSA should manually enter 2015 tax information into the form if the student will attend college during the 2017-18 academic year.
Check out these tips for filling out the FAFSA without the IRS Data Retrieval Tool:
- Don’t miss a deadline. Many Alabama colleges and universities priority deadlines are still approaching, and students that meet the deadline receive up to twice as much money for college.
- Have 2015 tax forms ready to answer income questions on the FAFSA. Use this worksheet to figure out which lines of info you need.
- Do not to click “Link to IRS” in the FAFSA. The link does not work, and you will be logged out of your FAFSA.
- Don’t have your 2015 taxes?
a. If you have a deadline fast approaching, use 2016 tax information if income and circumstances have not changed since 2015.
b. Otherwise, request a 2015 tax transcript from the IRS, and use it to complete the new FAFSA.
c. If filing a FAFSA renewal, print your 2016-2017 Student Aid Report and copy the income information from it into the 2017-2018 FAFSA.
- Students and families are likely to be asked by their college or university to verify their income by providing a tax transcript. Ask your college’s financial aid office if you need to provide this documentation. If so, request a tax transcript from the IRS and send it to your college or university.
Visit cashforcollegelabama.org for more information on the FAFSA.