2012-13 Verification Process

Verification of FAFSA Information will generally be required of 2012-13 FAFSA applicants who are required by IRS rules to file a 2011 federal income tax return and either choose not to use the 2012-13 FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) IRS Data Retrieval Process, or who are not eligible to use the FOTW IRS Data Retrieval Process.

Verification of FAFSA Information will be required from the following individuals:

• Parents of Dependent Students (the students required to provide parental information on the FAFSA), or
• Independent Students (the students not required to provide parental information on the FAFSA).

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Using the FOTW IRS Data Retrieval Process does significantly reduce the time it takes to complete the FAFSA Process.

We will begin selecting 2012-13 FAFSAs for Verification of FAFSA Information in February 2012.  When a student's 2012-13 FAFSA is selected for Verification of FAFSA Information, we will notify the student and parent (when applicable) by e-mail of the selection.  If you receive this e-mail from the UGA Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA), please see the following:

Acceptable 2012-13 Verification Documentation

Effective the 2012-13 Award Year, a signed copy of a student or parent 2011 federal income tax return is no longer acceptable Verification documentation.  To verify the federal income tax return information entered on the FAFSA, parents of dependent students (the students required to provide parental information on their FAFSAs) or independent students (students not required to provide parental information on their FAFSAs) must either:

• use the IRS Data Retrieval Process on the FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) (if eligible to do so) to populate their FAFSA taxable income information, or
• send us an IRS Tax Return Transcript of their 2011 tax year information (which is much slower than using the FOTW IRS Data Retrieval Process to correct the FAFSA taxable income information).

**Important** If you choose to provide an IRS transcript, the IRS will only provide one tax transcript per tax year. Please make copies for yourself and DO NOT provide your only copy to UGA.

Note that the U. S. Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) granting of an extension to file a 2011 federal tax return does not eliminate the requirement to provide us the requested tax return documentation!

The Verification Process cannot be completed and the student’s eligibility for federal financial aid determined until all requested documentation has been received by the UGA Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA).