Financial Aid Verification

Verification is the process we use to confirm that the data information reported on the FAFSA is correct.  When a student's FAFSA is selected for verification, we are required to complete the process before disbursing any additional federal financial aid.

If you see a note on your Student Aid Report or you’ve told you that you’ve been selected for FAFSA verification, don’t worry: nearly one in three FAFSAs are!

Verification is just a way to make sure everything on your FAFSA is correct – and doesn’t mean you’ve done anything wrong.

Don’t wait to respond to a verification request – your financial aid won’t be released until you do.

Some students are selected by the U.S. Department of Education every year, some just once or twice, and some never at all. However, if your FAFSA is selected for verification by the Department of Education, you will need to complete the process no matter which school you attend.

Some FAFSAs are selected because of inconsistent information, and others are chosen randomly. The Office of Financial Aid will request copies of your (and if a dependent student, your parents’) IRS tax return(s) and W-2s, as well as a verification worksheet. The information provided by you on the FAFSA is compared to the information submitted. Corrections are made, if necessary, and you are notified of any corrections made and the effect the changes have had on your aid eligibility.

The FAFSA is based off taxes from 2 years ago (prior-prior year). If your circumstances have since changed, contact our office to speak with an advisor about the potential for a professional judgment. 

The process will be completed once all documents are reviewed and the verification specialist has determined there is no additional documentation needed due to conflicting information. It can usually take up to 3 weeks; however this can increase during peak processing times, such as during January, July, and August.

To be considered independent, you must be 24 years old, have a child/dependent for which you provide 51% of the support, have served active duty in the military, or be married. You may set up an appointment with our office if you have extenuating dependency circumstances.

Return the verification worksheets and requested information ASAP. If you miss the deadline to submit your information, it will delay the disbursement of your financial aid. In some cases, you might even lose your aid. Respond as quickly as you can!

Documents are processed in the order they are received.  If documents are submitted during peak times (January, July, and August), we cannot guarantee they will be processed before your classes begin.  A list of financial aid deadlines, including verification, is available here.

Once your FAFSA is processed, the comment section of the Student Aid Report (SAR) will clearly indicate that you have been selected for a process called verification and that the school will request certain information from you and your parent(s).

Once all verification items are submitted, it can still take several days for the FAFSA to process. Sometimes, due to necessary changes made to the FAFSA as a result of verification (such as the true income has increased), additional information is then required by the Department of Education before your eligibility can be determined.

One of the more common additional items that is required to be reported when income increases is the amount in cash, savings, checking, investment net worth, and business net worth. Our office has no control over when this information will be required and when it will not be required. Other times, you may have outstanding requirements that have nothing to do with verification, such as eligibility requirements or satisfactory academic progress requirements.

Verification worksheets are usually incomplete because they were not signed (or have a typed signature) or Section A-Household Size was not completed correctly. 

They are documents you have when you file your taxes.

You need both 1040 pages (sometimes combined into 1 page) and Schedules 1-3, if filed in the original return. The 1040 must be physically signed by the tax filer or have the necessary tax preparer information listed.

Tax Return Transcript: 1040 Income Tax Return

Wage and Income Transcript: W-2 Forms

Account Transcript: 1040-X (Amended Income Tax Return)

Record of Account Transcript: Either 1040 or 1040-X information or both

Visit irs.gov for additional details.

Schedules are part of the tax return.  Additional information is available here.

Schedule 1: Used for Additional Income and Adjustments to Income

Schedule 2: Used for Additional Taxes

Schedule 3: Used for Nonrefundable Credits

The tax return transcript (called return transcript) has the same information as a 1040.  An account transcript has information from a 1040X (amended tax return). You can request the following types of transcripts:

• Return Transcript
• Record of Account Transcript
• Account Transcript
• Wage & Income Transcript

You can submit a wage and income transcript. If you are unable to obtain a wage and income transcript from the IRS, contact the Office of Financial Aid for further potential options.

You can check any missing requirements in your myWSU student portal.

Dependent students: Mark "did not file" on the Dependent Verification worksheet.

Independent students: Ask the IRS for a "Verification of Non-filing Letter."  If you have tried, and are unable to obtain the IRS letter, fill out the non-filing worksheet.

If you had also wages: Send us W-2s for the appropriate tax year.

Verification of non-filing letter: The letter of non-filing status can be obtained from the IRS by submitting the Form 4506-T to the IRS. A former tax filer can obtain this confirmation of non-filing using the IRS Get Transcript Online feature but only if the tax filer has filed taxes before and is able to set up an account with the IRS. This typically means the tax filer needs some sort of credit in their name (credit card, auto loan, etc.) and a mobile phone number in their name.

You are now considered one household, and we need the income for the entire household for 20xx, including your spouse's, even though you weren't married during the tax year.  Federal regulations require us to verify income of both the student and spouse, even if they weren’t married during the tax period requested.

If your parent is now married, federal regulations require us to verify the income of both parents and student.

This depends on what the written statement is needed for — it could be used for several different things such as W2s, household members, parent marital status, etc.

The details needed for the written statement have been emailed to your Shocker student email account (@shockers.wichita.edu), since it may be a written statement needed from the student or from the parent(s). 

Where do I sign? An original signature is required on the tax form, usually in the "Sign Here" section, but we can accept an original signature anywhere on the tax form.  

What is an original signature? An original signature is one where the tax filer has physically signed the document in some manner, not just typed their name.

How do I sign? Some computer applications, such as Adobe, will allow you to sign with a mouse or with your finger on a tablet/phone.  You may also print a paper copy of the tax forms and sign them by hand.

We need verification of non-tax filing (for all parents on your FAFSA) as well as W2s for parents who also had wages. If your parents would have been required to file taxes in 20xx, then they will need to file taxes before verification can be completed.

Verification of non-filing letter: The letter of non-filing status can be obtained from the IRS by submitting the Form 4506-T to the IRS. A former tax filer can obtain this confirmation of non-filing using the IRS Get Transcript Online feature but only if the tax filer has filed taxes before and is able to set up an account with the IRS. This typically means the tax filer needs some sort of credit in their name (credit card, auto loan, etc.) and a mobile phone number in their name.

The IRS matching requirements are very precise (to protect taxpayer identities), so it is not always apparent what the matching issue could be, but some common issues are:

• you or your parents recently filed taxes.
• the address information on the tax return does not exactly match what the IRS has on file for that tax year.
• your or your parents’ marital status has changed.
• the filing status you listed does not match the tax return.