It sure would be nice if everyone got this response!!
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Agree.
And today she got a verification letter for one of the schools she got into. Not sure if we should fill it out or wait for the FAFSA to correct.
What are they asking for? It’s very possible that the documents they are requesting will also show your rollover issue!
Call the school and ask.
It says we were selected for verification. No idea what they will want to see. I’ll look at it tomorrow
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ok received the SAR’s in the mail. Now to fill out
I just want to make sure I am doing this right To correct the rollover issue I need to go under #89 line e and change that to all 0’s? anything else I need to do?
This is exactly what I did. Mailed it back about a week and a half ago and still waiting for a response. Good luck!
yes change that line to all 000000. Also while you have the paper version, verify the math of other lines too. I found an error on other line as hubby had added incorrect box number and amount was not correct, so I corrected other lines also.
Please read the signing instructions too , the child and parent both have to sign.
It will take 2 weeks to show the correction.
Please take a copy of all the pages for your record.
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It worked!!! I resubmitted the SAR with 89E changed to zero about two weeks ago. I just checked the FAFSA website and our EFC got lowered significantly!! I am so relieved! I’m not sure that schools will see the updated EFC since she’s already applied, so I’m still going to have to call 10 different financial aid offices (ugh), but worth it!!!
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I had asked that question if schools will get the updates, they said yes they do get the updates in next business day.
Even with lower EFC we will not qualify for any money but I still wanted to have the correct record so that if there are any financial changes in future, our new number will not look drastically different and it will be easy to explain the gap.
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Once a student has been selected for verification, they will not be un-selected. You’ll need to complete verification regardless.
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Here are the regulations, straight from the 2023-24 Federal Student Aid Handbook. While changes made by requesting paperwork from the FAFSA Helpline is technically compliant with regulations (although this is the first year I have heard that it has been allowed), this will not mean that it’s the end … every school will at some point request the documentation described in the regulations. A tax transcript will not be required DUE TO updating FAFSA manually…but any other changes to items transferred through the DRT besides the rollover will result in the schools requiring the tax transcript. And of course, anyone who was selected for verification will have to complete verification, submitting all documents required for the verification. Here’s the section from the 23-24 FSA Handbook:
RS Data Retrieval Tool: Of course, the FAFSA-IRS Data Retrieval Tool cannot know if the word “Rollover” was included on the tax return. Therefore, it assumes that the total difference between the distribution reported on line 15a or 16a, and the taxable portion on line 15b or 16b is untaxed income for EFC purposes, and that amount will be transferred from the FAFSA-IRS Data Retrieval Tool into the FAFSA as untaxed income for IRA distributions or pension distributions.
The FAFSA applicant, the applicant’s parent, or the institution may modify the amount that the FAFSA-IRS Data Retrieval Tool transferred into the FAFSA, if all or a portion of that amount should not be included as untaxed income because of a rollover. To support such a change, the institution must maintain documentation (see below) that the amount not included in the FAFSA was an amount that was the result of a rollover.
Beginning with the 2018-2019 FAFSA processing year, if the applicant or the applicant’s parent indicate that the amount transferred from the IRS into the FAFSA for the IRA distributions field or pension distributions field includes a rollover, he/she will be required to provide the amount of the rollover in a new entry field. Our system will then subtract the reported rollover amount from the amount of the IRA or pension distribution that was transferred from the IRS, and the result will be used in the calculation of the applicant’s EFC.
Verification Requirements: Since neither the information from the FAFSA-IRS Data Retrieval Tool nor an IRS Tax Return Transcript will include the tax filer’s “Rollover” notation, to verify the amounts that should be included on the FAFSA, the institution must obtain a written statement from the tax filer indicating the amount of the distribution that was excluded because it was an authorized IRS rollover. Acceptable documentation could be a signed statement from the tax filer. Acceptable documentation could also be a notation by the tax filer on the IRS Tax Return Transcript that includes the word “Rollover” beside the applicable item(s) on the transcript, similar to the instructions provided for the IRS Form 1040 or 1040A. If the institution accepts as documentation of the rollover a notation on the IRS Tax Return Transcript, it must ensure that the notation is signed and dated by the tax filer.
If the IRA or pension distributions were the only tax information that was changed for tax filers who used the IRS DRT, an institution should accept from the tax filer a signed statement confirming that the IRA or pension distributions included a rollover. A tax transcript would only be necessary if other IRS tax information was changed. [Guidance issued 05/04/2012; revised 12/08/2017]
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Just providing an update! Received an email from FAFSA that we had an update. Happy to report it is fixed!!!
Now, since that time we received a packet in the mail from one of the schools my DD got into with the financial breakdown. Do I reach out to that school? @phemrajani Did you reach out to the schools anyway?
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Does this college you got the aid package from meet full need for all? And if so…was there package reflective of your corrected FAFSA form? Does the college use the CSS Profile?
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Doesn’t use css and sadly I’m not even sure if it is a meets full need school. We wouldn’t qualify anyway so not even sure it’s worth stressing over contacting the schools.
Oh and I can only think this school didn’t receive the corrections. We got the packet 3 days before we got the notification from FAFSA that they corrected it.
I would 100% definitely reach out to the school. No harm in checking. I reached out to several schools and they all had received my new FAFSA info, but they were all regular decision with March/April notifications and likely hadn’t even cracked open my daughter’s app yet. If you are unsure, definitely call.
I’d contact the schools because even if they did receive the correction it might not trigger a review. The schools get correction updates all the time, if another school makes a correction, for non financial info, etc. Sometimes it just updates the system but no human looks at them.
Let them know you are out there!
Have few questions:
1.Does FAFSA affect decision?
We submitted FAFSA as counselor told it is required for merit scholarships
- We have submitted only FAFSA not CSS Profile. Is it okay not to submit CSS Profile? will it affect decisions in any way?