Returning Students

2013 - 2014

For the 2013-2014 academic year, the financial aid application deadline for returning students is April 23, 2013. Barnard College no longer participates in the College Board's Institutional Document Service (IDOC).   Tax documents should be sent directly to the Financial Aid Office.

Notification of financial aid awards for returning students who have submitted all required documents will be mailed the first week of July, 2013. 
 

When applicable, returning students must submit the following:

2013-2014 FAFSA - IRS Data Retrieval Tool

The U.S. Department of Education created an enhancement to the FAFSA filing process by allowing applicants and parents to retrieve tax data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IDRT).  To expedite the application process, you are encouraged to 1) file your 2012 taxes electronically with the IRS and 2) complete your FAFSA approximately three weeks after your taxes are filed electronically to use the IDRT to simplify the federal income tax data verification process. The income tax information will be available through the IDRT approximately three weeks after electronic filing and eight weeks after submitting a paper tax return. 

All 2013-2014 FAFSA on the Web applicants, and the parents of dependent applicants, who indicate that they have filed their federal tax returns prior to completing their FAFSA and who are otherwise eligible, will be directed to use the FAFSA-IRS Data Retrieval process to complete their FAFSA more easily and accurately.  With this tool, parents will be able to transfer their federal tax information straight from their 2012 tax returns to the FAFSA.

Applicants who used estimated income to complete the FAFSA will receive an email from Federal Student Aid.  The email will remind applicants that once they have filed their income tax return that they should use the FAFSA corrections process to update their FAFSA using the FAFSA-IRS Data Retrieval process.  Subsequent messages will be sent every 45 days until mid-September and then every 60 days until the end of the processing cycle.

Federal Verification

The Department of Education randomly selects certain FAFSA records for a process called Federal Verification. When a FAFSA is selected, there are additional financial aid requirements necessary to confirm your financial aid eligibility. A message included in your FAFSA confirmation report (the Student Aid Report or SAR) will inform you of your selection for this process. To satisfy the Federal Verification process, students and parents who filed a federal tax return must either use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool or submit an IRS Tax Transcript to the Financial Aid Office. Instructions to complete these steps are outlined below. Please note: even though you may have submitted signed copies of federal tax returns, you are still required to use the IRS Data Retrieval or tax transcript if you were selected for Federal Verification. This process is required of both the parents and students when they have filed federal tax returns.

IRS Data Retrieval Tool

To be eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool you must meet these criteria:

• You must have a valid social security number.
• You must have filed your 2012 federal tax return with the IRS.
• You must have a Federal Aid Personal Identification Number (PIN).
• You must not have changed your marital status since December 31, 2012.

Steps to take to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool:

• Go to the FAFSA website at www.fafsa.ed.gov. 
• Select Make FAFSA Corrections.
• Navigate to the Finances section.
• Select already completed from the parent (and if student filed, the student also) drop-down box and choose the appropriate response.
• Enter your PIN and click Link To IRS (you will not be asked to enter your PIN if you entered a PIN to begin your FAFSA).
• Your FAFSA will be saved and you will be transferred to the IRS Web site.
• On the IRS Web site, enter the requested information.
• Once the IRS has validated your identification, your IRS tax information will display.  You can either transfer your information from the IRS, or choose to return to FAFSA on the Web from the IRS Web site.  If you do not transfer your information or choose not to return from the IRS Web site, you will have to login to open your saved FAFSA.
• If you transfer your IRS tax information, questions that are populated with tax information will be marked with "Transferred from the IRS."

You will be unable to use the IDRT if:

• Your marital status changed after December 31, 2012.
• You filed married filing separately.
• You filed an amended 2012 federal tax return.
• You filed a foreign tax return (including Puerto Rico).
• You filed a tax return using a Tax ID Number (TIN).
• The home address on the FAFSA does not match the address on the tax return.

How the IRS Data Retrieval option works

When either a parent or student selects the IRS Data Retrieval option, the FAFSA Central Processing System (CPS) will conduct a data match with the IRS.  As the federal income tax filer, you will be redirected to a secure IRS website, where you will permit the IRS to transfer income data to the CPS.  Data that is successfully matched will be marked on the FAFSA with the following notation: "Transferred from the IRS."  This process avoids reporting errors and processing delays that can otherwise occur when the option is not selected.

Tax Transcripts

If you are ineligible to use the IDRT and the FAFSA was selected for verification, you will be required to submit to the Financial Aid Office a certified IRS transcript 4506-T.  Instructions for requesting a tax transcript can be found on the IRS website and are outlined below.  There are three ways to request your tax transcript:  telephone, online or by mail.  Please make sure you request a Tax Transcript (do not request a Tax Account Transcript or Record of Account because they cannot be used for financial aid verification purposes). 

A tax return transcript can be ordered by telephone.  Follow these steps:

• Call the IRS at 800-908-9946
• Tax filers must follow prompt to enter their Social Security Number and the numbers in their street address.  These will be the numbers of the street address that are listed on the latest federal tax return filed.  (If an address change has been completed through the U.S. Postal Service, the IRS may have the updated address on file.)
• Select "Option 2" to request an IRS Tax Return Transcript, and then enter "2012".
• If successfully validated, tax filers can expect to receive a paper IRS Tax Return Transcript at the address that was used in their telephone request within 5 to 10 days from the time the IRS receives the request.  Forward the paper IRS Tax Return Transcript to the Financial Aid Office by mail or fax to 212-854-2902.
• IRS Tax Return Transcripts requested by telephone cannot be sent directly to a third party by the IRS. 

A tax return transcript can be ordered online.  Follow these steps:

• Go to www.irs.gov
• Click Order A Tax Return or Account Transcript located under Tools.
• Click Order a Transcript under Step 3.
• Enter your SSN, date of birth, street address and zip code.
• Click Continue.
• Select Return Transcript for Tax Year (i.e. 2012)
• Click Continue.

A tax return transcript can be ordered by mail.  Follow these steps:

• Complete IRS transcript 4506-T (Request for Transcript of Tax Return)
• Questions 1a through 4: answer the questions with the exact information indicated on your 2012 federal tax return.
• Question 5: do not indicate a third party name, address and telephone number.  The transcript should be returned to you and then mailed or faxed to the Financial Aid Office.
• Question 6: indicate the tax form number and check #6a for the Return Transcript.
• Question 9: enter the ending date of the year or period as 12/31/2012.
• Sign and date and include the telephone number of the taxpayer on line 1a or 2a.
• Mail or fax the completed IRS Form to the appropriate address (or fax number) provided on page 2 of Form 4506-T.
• Your transcript(s) will be mailed within 5 to 10 days from the IRS.  Forward the paper IRS Tax Return Transcript to the Financial Aid Office by mail or fax to 212-854-2902.

If you have any questions in completing the FAFSA, please contact the Federal Student Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 or email customer support at FederalStudentAidCustomerService@ed.gov.