<p>Well I don’t really know what it’s called but I remember someone’s mentioning it in passing a few months ago. Supposedly, schools will be able to access tax-returns by typing in students’ parents’ SSN’s. </p>
<p>Is that likely to come into being soon?</p>
<p>There is no way that would happen!</p>
<p>There are some who would like to see a direct link from IRS to FAFSA, but that would involve the student/parent authorizing the IRS (via the FAFSA) to provide the tax information directly to the FAFSA processor to be entered onto the FAFSA. The schools would never have a direct link to IRS information. This idea hasn’t gone far, because the IRS is hesitant to share information with other entities.</p>
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<p>It sounds pretty illegal, anyway. Government agencies usually need a subpoena to look at financial records like that!</p>
<p>Schools can’t access your IRS records unless you send them.</p>
<p>BUT some of the tax prep software companies have piloted things that will spill the info on your tax return onto the FAFSA form (or something like that).</p>
<p>Is that what you mean?</p>
<p>The hope is that while the student is filling out the FAFSA, he can request a direct dump of IRS info onto the FAFSA. It was supposed to start this past March, but it never did (at least to my knowledge).</p>
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<p>No I’m pretty sure that some parent once said in a thread of mine that “pretty soon, schools will be able to access parents’ tax forms directly through their social security numbers.”</p>
<p>Unless memory is failing me big time here, but I can’t imagine why I would even think that schools would soon be able to do that unless someone else brought it up.</p>
<p>I helped a student and his mom do a FAFSA last May (for the current school year - so very late!). The mom was able to directly lift her tax info onto the form by somehow getting the info from the IRS. She was on the FAFSA website at the time and indicated that she wanted that to happen. I saw the whole thing happen.</p>
<p>Hmmm that may be convenient but may not be too large of an upgrade. There’s no chance for colleges’ being able to access submitted tax forms for the verification process straight from the IRS (with SSN and permission I guess), electronically or otherwise?</p>
<p>Mom2collegekids, I went to a Webinar where they showed that option - it was supposed to be availabe this spring - none of our students has mentioned it, so I didn’t know if it was actually operational. Cool! I saw the demo … the applicant leaves FAFSA, goes to IRS, then it bring the applicant & the info back to the FAFSA website.</p>
<p>Antonioray, no … IRS won’t allow anyone but the taxpayer to access info. They are understandably very careful about allowing access to their info.</p>