VERIFICATION
OASFAA CONFERENCE SPONSOR SPRING 2016 Thank you to Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc. for their sponsorship of the OASFAA 2016 Spring Conference!
WHAT WE WILL BE COVERING Verification Tracking Groups V4 V5 Reporting Tax Extensions 2016-17 New Year Verification Updates 2017-18 Sneak Peek Open Discussion of Questions Scenarios
INTRODUCTION TO VERIFICATION Because students sometimes make errors on their application, there is a process for verifying applications and making corrections. The Central Processing System (CPS) selects which applications are to be verified, but you also have the authority to verify additional students through an internal selection process. You must verify applications selected by the CPS of students who will receive (or have received) subsidized student financial assistance unless you are participating in the Quality Assurance (QA) program until 2017-18.
VERIFICATION TRACKING GROUPS A LOOK BACK Verification Tracking Groups implemented 2013-14 V1 Standard V2- SNAP Reserved V3- Child Support Paid Reserved 2014-15 V4- Custom V5- Aggregate V6- Household Resources 2015-16 2016-17
2016-17 VERIFICATION TRACKING GROUPS V1 Standard V4 Custom V5 Aggregate V6 Household Resources What will 2017-18 bring?
V1 STANDARD VERIFICATION Household Size Number in College SNAP benefits, if receipt is indicated on the ISIR Child Support Paid
V1 STANDARD VERIFICATION Tax Filers Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) U.S. income tax paid Untaxed portions of IRA distributions IRA deductions and payments Untaxed portions of pension and annuity distributions Tax-exempt interest income Education tax credits Non-Tax Filers Income earned from work
V4 CUSTOMIZED VERIFICATION SNAP benefits, if receipt is indicated on the ISIR Child support paid High school completion Identity and Statement of Educational Purpose
V5 AGGREGATE VERIFICATION High school completion Identity and Statement of Educational Purpose The Standard Verification Group (V1) items based on tax filer or nontax filer status
V6 HOUSEHOLD RESOURCES VERIFICATION Certain other untaxed income from the 2016-17 FAFSA; Payments to tax-deferred pension and retirement savings plans paid directly or withheld from earnings Child support received Housing, food, and other living allowances paid to members of the military, clergy, and others Veterans non-education benefits Other untaxed income Money received or paid on the applicant s behalf Resources or benefits not appearing on the FAFSA such as in kind support from a relative or a government agency The Standard Verification Group (V1) items based on tax filer or nontax filer status
V4 AND V5 VERIFICATION STATEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE Must use exact language given. This can be found in the Suggested Verification Text that is released annually. Students should appear in person with a valid, unexpired, government-issued ID to your school. o Passport o Driver s License o State Issued I.D. Student must also sign a statement of educational purposes that certifies that they will only use federal student aid funds received are for educational purposes and for the cost of attending school.
V4 AND V5 VERIFICATION STATEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE You must maintain an annotated copy of that ID that includes the date it was received and the printed name of the person at your school who received it. Your school s policy should indicate who is authorized to receive SEP s.
V4 AND V5 VERIFICATION STATEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE If the student is unable to appear in person Must have a notary public sign the Statement of Educational Purpose Present a valid and unexpired government issued photo ID to the notary Student must submit the signed and notarized form along with a copy of the government issued ID that was presented to notary
V4 AND V5 VERIFICATION HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION Copy of a high school diploma or final transcript that show the date of the diploma. Copy of a General Educational Development (GED) certificate or GED transcript that indicates the student passed the exam. Proof of homeschool completion Academic transcript that shows completion of a 2 year program that is acceptable for full credit towards a bachelor s degree Copy of secondary school leaving certificate from a foreign country Approved ATB students
V4 AND V5 VERIFICATION FAA ACCESS REPORTING You must report verification results of identity and HS completion for any student you receive an ISIR with tracking flag V4 or V5 through FAA Access and only when the institution has requested that the applicant submit the required documentation. 1- Verification completed in person, no issues found 2- Verification completed using notary, no issues found 3- Verification attempted, issues found with identity 4- Verification attempted, issues found with HS completion 5- No response from applicant or unable to locate Deadline dates for reporting should be 60 days following the institution s first request to the documentation
TAX EXTENSIONS If a tax filer has been granted a tax filing extension by the IRS, you must complete verification. The following documents are required: A copy of IRS Form 4868 (Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return) completed by the tax filer A copy of the tax filer s IRS form W-2 for each source of employment If self employed, a signed statement certifying the amount of AGI and U.S. income tax paid for the tax year You cannot complete verification using the above documents if the extension has expired (October 15 th ) and the tax payer has not been granted another filing extension by the IRS and has not filed a tax return.
2016-17 NEW YEAR VERIFICATION UPDATES
VERIFICATION TRACKING GROUPS V3 Child Support Paid No longer a specified group that the Department of Education will select Will still need to verify child support paid on those selected if it was indicated on the ISIR
VERIFICATION TRACKING FLAGS Applicants may be moved from previously assigned 2016-17 Verification Tracking Groups V1, V4, and V6 to Verification Tracking Group V5 based on corrections made to the applicant s CPS record or on other information available to the Department. Can change even after a student has already been verified Expected to be a minimal impact Verification Selection Change Flag Blank Y C Verification selection status has not changed from transaction being corrected Transaction is now selected for verification when the transaction being corrected was not selected Change in Verification Tracking Group
VERIFICATION TRACKING FLAGS No disbursements of Title IV aid may be made until verification is satisfactorily completed o Student is liable for full amount of Title IV aid if documents are not turned in. Without verification, there is no evidence that the applicant was eligible for any Title IV aid. o Institutions are not liable to return funds; except when a student withdraws without completing the V5 requirements, school must still perform R2T4 and return the school s share. Additional information about how institutions will report the receipt of such ineligible funds to the Department will be provided in a forthcoming Electronic Announcement
CHILD SUPPORT PAID Separation agreements and divorce decrees were removed from the list of acceptable documents to verify child support paid, because such documents only indicate the amount of child support that was supposed to be paid and not that child support was actually paid.
HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION For applicants placed in Verification Tracking Groups V4 and V5, if the institution successfully verified and documented the applicant s high school completion status for a prior award year, verification of the applicant s high school completion status is not required for subsequent years. DD214 can be accepted as alternative proof of high school completion only if the primary documentation is not available. Institutions should first try to collect the primary acceptable documentation for a V4 or V5 student.
IDENTITY/STATEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE There is now a clarified statement in the regulation that the valid government-issued photo identification used to verify identity must not have expired.
VICTIMS OF IDENTITY THEFT Victims of Identity Theft must now provide a statement that includes the following: o Must address the identity theft and attest that the filer notified the IRS o Must be signed and dated Also, still provide the Tax Return DataBase View (TRDBV) tax return by calling 1-800-908-4490
AMENDED TAX RETURNS Tax filers who filed an amended tax return must submit: A transcript from the IRS that lists tax account information of the tax filer and; A signed copy of the IRS Form 1040x that was filed.
TAX TRANSCRIPT UN-AVAILABLE If a copy of the tax return was not retained and cannot be located by the IRS, the student must submit; Copy of all relevant W-2s from Signed statement that the individual did not retain a copy of his or her tax account information and; Documentation from the IRS that indicates that the individual s 2015 tax account information cannot be located.
INCOME INFORMATION FOR NON-IRS TAX FILERS Tax filers who filed an income tax return with a taxing authority in a U.S. territory* or commonwealth** or with a foreign central government, must submit a copy of a transcript of their tax information if a transcript is available at no charge. If the student is unable to obtain a transcript at non charge, a signed copy of the applicable 2015 income tax return that was filed with the taxing authority is acceptable. *Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands ** Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands
INCOME INFORMATION FOR NON-IRS TAX FILERS Residents of the Freely Associated States* and a U.S. territory or commonwealth or a foreign central government who are not required to file an income tax return under that taxing authority s rules must submit a copy of their Wage and Tax Statement (or equivalent documentation) for each source of employment income received for 2015 and a signed statement identifying all of the individual s income and taxes for 2015. *Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia
2017-18 - WHAT WE KNOW NOW
2017-18 SNEAK PEEK Verification Tracking Group V6 So Long! Farewell! SNAP Benefits and Child Support Paid These two items will no longer be included in Verification Tracking Groups V1, V4, or V5
2017-18 SNEAK PEEK Confirmation of Non-filing U.S. Tax Returns Non-tax filers and tax filers who received an extension but still have not filed their income tax return must provide confirmation on non-filing dated on or after October 1, 2016. This can be obtained by from the IRS by completing Form 4506-T and checking box 7
2017-18 SNEAK PEEK Use of Tax Documentation from the 2016-17 Year To reduce any further burden, ED decided any tax documents submitted in the 2016-17 award year may be used to satisfy a 2017-18 verification requirement if it meets the acceptable documentation requirements.
HELPFUL RESOURCES o Program Integrity Q&A Verification Website http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2009/verification.ht ml o IFAP Emails o NASFAA Daily News o NASFAA Ask Regs o OASFAA Listserv
Erin Glass Franklin University Verification Associate erin.glass@franklin.edu QUESTIONS?
SCENARIO DISCUSSION Michael is a 21 year old student who just recently had a baby girl. Unfortunately, the baby s mother is no longer in the picture so Michael has sole custody. Michael lives on campus so his daughter lives with his Mother in his hometown. Michael has a part-time job where he gives some money each month to his Mom to help with the care of his child and also comes home on weekends to visit. Michael completed his FAFSA and answered Yes to supporting children and was selected for verification.
SCENARIO DISCUSSION Chris is a dependent student attending your institution. He was selected for verification and on the Dependent Verification Worksheet it lists 4 people in his household. Name Relationship Age Institution Chris Myers Self 19 Toledo University Brian Myers Father 44 Kristy Myers Sister 12 Jacob Myers Step-Brother 9 It is also indicated on the Child Support Paid section that Brian Myers pays $3,000 per month to his ex-girlfriend for a child named Kristy Myers age 12.
SCENARIO DISCUSSION Emily was selected for verification and did the IRS Data Retrieval Tool and had an 02 IRS DRT Flag (no changes from retrieved info). Even though you didn t request the IRS Tax Return Transcript, the student still sent it in and you see that the total in wages + business + farm on the IRS Transcript does not add up to the amount that was reported on the FAFSA for the student and her spouse.
SCENARIO DISCUSSION Sam was selected for verification and called into the office and didn t know who to put on his verification worksheet. He indicated that he is married but his wife lives in his home country with their 3 children. He works full time and sends any extra money outside of his living expenses to his wife to support her and their children. His wife does not work and their only source of income is what is sent from Sam. Does Sam include his wife and children in the household size?
SCENARIO DISCUSSION Amber is a 24 year old student and was selected for V6 verification. She had an AGI total of $3,000 in 2015 and has listed herself and her 6 children in the household size. After you speak with Amber about how she supported herself she indicated that she lives with her boyfriend and he pays for the rent, and utilities while she stays home and takes care of the children during the day. Although Amber does have SNAP and WIC benefits, her Grandmother gives her $400 a month to help with making ends meet. How do you verify this student s V6 Verification?