[Students] January 31st = [W2S + 2011 Tax Return] = TIME TO COMPLETE THE 2012-2013 FAFSA
Maria C Ramos
Maria_Ramos at tamu-commerce.edu
Mon Jan 30 18:02:34 CST 2012
It's that time of the year when employers are mailing W2 statement(s)
and 1098 forms to their employees. Whether you receive it in the mail or
are able to receive it electronically be on the lookout for it. It is
time to prepare the federal 2011 income tax return AND to apply for
financial aid for the upcoming 2012-2013 year.
The 2012-2013 FAFSA, using the 2011 income tax information, can be
completed on line at http://fafsa.gov .
NEW FOR THE 2012-2013 FAFSA:
The Internal Revenue Service Data Retrieval system.
Individuals who file their 2011 income tax return with the IRS, can use
this new feature when completing the 2012-2013 FAFSA.
How does this work?
If the 2011 income tax return is filed with the IRS BEFORE completing
the 2012-2013 FAFSA, the person applying for financial aid
Question # 32 on the 2012-2013 FAFSA, will ask if you have completed the
IRS income tax return. If the answer is Already Completed, then you can
use the IRS DATA RETRIEVAL TOOL to transfer your 2011 income tax return
information from the IRS into your FAFSA.
Question # 33 (The type of income tax return filed for 2011) will be
pre-filled AND will identify the data as "Transferred from the IRS"
Why is this important?
For the applicant -
1) it will make it easier to complete most of the income sections of
the FAFSA and
2) 2) if your FAFSA record is selected by the federal FAFSA processor
for verification. Our office will not need to verify your income - it is
coming straight from the IRS.
For our office - we will not be requesting a tax transcript from you to
verify income tax information if we receive a FAFSA with "Transferred
from the IRS"
The IRS DATA RETRIEVAL TOOL/SYSTEM works only in these cases:
1. The 2011 income tax return is filed and processed by the IRS
BEFORE the FAFSA is to be completed.
2. The financial aid applicant is married and files the 2011 income
tax return as Married Filing Jointly.
3. For dependent students, the parents of the financial aid applicant
are married and file the 2011 income tax return as Married Filing
Jointly.
The IRS DATA RETRIEVAL TOOL/SYSTEM WILL NOT work in these cases:
1. The 2011 income tax return was filed and then amended.
2. The financial aid applicant is married and files the 2011 income
tax return as Married Filing Separately.
3. For dependent students, the parents of the financial aid applicant
file the 2011 income tax return as Married Filing Separately
4. The 2011 income tax return filed is a Foreign Tax Return
You do not have to use the IRS Data Retrieval system. You can still
complete the 2012-2013 FAFSA without first filing your income tax return
but if your FAFSA is selected for verification and the IRS Data
Retrieval Tool was not used in completing the FAFSA. We will be
requesting a TAX TRANSCRIPT; IRS FORM 4506-T. We will no longer be
accepting a copy of the tax return as in the past!
What is a TAX TRANSCRIPT; IRS FORM 4506-T
IRS Form 4506-T or TAX TRANSCRIPT will show most line items from a tax
return (Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ). The data on the TAX TRANSCRIPT will
be as it was originally filed, including any accompanying forms and
schedules. This is a new process for FAFSA records selected by the
federal FAFSA processor for verification. We will no longer be able to
accept a copy of the tax return(s) as in the past!
For individuals who do not file a tax return with the IRS, the TAX
TRANSCRIPT will indicate that no tax return for 2011 was filed.
The TAX TRANSCRIPT will not need to be signed by the filer or the person
who prepared the original income tax return. But we do need to have the
student's name and student ID on the TAX TRANSCRIPT, especially when
submitting parents' TAX TRANSCRIPT since the last names may be
different. Only with the student's name and student ID will we be able
to match the TAX TRANSCRIPT(S) with the student's FAFSA record. This is
why DO NOT HAVE THE IRS SEND THE TAX TRANSCRIPT DIRECTLY TO OUR OFFICE.
The IRS will not know the student's id.
FOR 2012-2013, we will also be verifying the following:
1. The amount of child support paid
2. Whether food stamp benefits were received in 2010 and/or 2011.
There will be separate verification worksheets for each of these two
situations.
What if you want to use the IRS DATA RETRIEVAL system but you when you
complete the 2011 income tax return it shows you will owe have to pay
taxes on April 15, 2012?
If this is your situation, do not wait to file your income tax return
until April 15, 2012. You can early file your income tax return BUT YOU
MUST PAY the taxes no later than April 12, 2012. So if you choose this
route, remember to pay your taxes when they are due!
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Have a great spring semester and get started on filing your 2011 income
tax return!
Maria del C. Ramos
Director, Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
Texas A&M University-Commerce
PO Box 3011
Commerce, TX 75249-3011
Phone: 903-886-5091
Fax: 903-886-5098
http://web.tamu-commerce.edu/
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piecemeal matters that there is a lamentable tendency to let the "long
run" or future take care of itself. We often are so busy "putting out
fires," so to speak, that we find it difficult to do the planning that
would prevent those fires from occurring in the first place. As a
prominent educator has expressed it, Americans generally "spend so much
time on things that are urgent that we have none left to spend on those
that are important."
Gustav Metzman
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<http://web.tamu-commerce.edu/audience/onestopshop/> survey online and
let us know how we are doing!
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