2021-2022 Application and Verification Guide

Application and Verification Guide 2021?2022

Introduction.................................................................................................. 1

CHANGES FOR 2021?2022............................................................................................................................... 1

Chapter 1: The Application Process: FAFSA to ISIR............................... 3

TYPES OF APPLICATIONS................................................................................................................................ 3 FAFSA online, myStudentAid mobile app, FAA Access to CPS Online, Paper (PDF) FAFSA forms, FAFSA on the phone, FSA ID, Renewal FAFSA, FAFSA filers under the age of 13

PROCESSING THE FAFSA FORM..................................................................................................................... 5 OUTPUT DOCUMENTS: THE SAR AND ISIR.................................................................................................. 6 DEADLINES.......................................................................................................................................................... 8

Websites for students, Resources for schools

Chapter 2: Filling Out the FAFSA............................................................ 11

STEP ONE: GENERAL STUDENT INFORMATION........................................................................................ 11 Questions 1?31, IRS Data Retrieval Tool, Definitions, No income reported on the FAFSA form, Married filing separately, EFA or not?

STEPS TWO AND FOUR: INCOME AND ASSETS........................................................................................ 18 Questions 32?44 (and questions 79?92 for parents), Qualified education benefits, Reporting "take-back" mortgages, Reporting trust funds, Ownership of an asset

STEP THREE: DEPENDENCY STATUS............................................................................................................ 30 Questions 45?57, Who does and does not count as a parent on the FAFSA?, Other sources of support for children and other household members, Veteran match, Documentation of foster youth

STEP FOUR: PARENTS' INFORMATION (DEPENDENT STUDENTS ONLY)............................................. 37 Questions 58?78, 83 (see Step Two for discussion of questions 79?82, 84?92); Reporting information in cases of death, separation, divorce, and remarriage

STEP FIVE: INDEPENDENT STUDENT DATA............................................................................................... 42 Questions 93?100

STEP SIX: SCHOOL INFORMATION............................................................................................................... 43 Questions 101

STEP SEVEN: SIGNATURE(S).......................................................................................................................... 43 Questions 102?106, Signatures for electronic applications, Signature requirements chart

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Chapter 3: Expected Family Contribution (EFC).................................. 47

GENERAL INFORMATION............................................................................................................................... 47

SIMPLIFIED FORMULA.................................................................................................................................... 47

AUTOMATIC ZERO EFC...................................................................................................................................48

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MATCH AND IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN SERVICE GRANT................... 49

ALTERNATE EFCS.............................................................................................................................................. 49

THE EFC WORKSHEETS...................................................................................................................................49 Negative AGI or zero?

FORMULA A--DEPENDENT STUDENTS...................................................................................................... 50 Parents' contribution, Student's contribution from income, Student's contribution from assets, Calculation of student's EFC , Alternate EFCs for other than nine-month enrollment

FORMULA B--INDEPENDENT STUDENT WITHOUT DEPENDENTS OTHER THAN A SPOUSE ................................................................................................................................ 54

Contribution from available income, Contribution from assets, Calculation of student's EFC , Alternate EFCs for other than nine-month enrollment

FORMULA C--INDEPENDENT STUDENT WITH DEPENDENTS OTHER THAN A SPOUSE ................................................................................................................................ 56

Available income, Contribution from assets, Calculation of student's EFC, Alternate EFCs for other than nine-month enrollment

Chapter 4: Verification, Updates, and Corrections................................ 59

REQUIRED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES................................................................................................... 59 Verification selection and PJ

APPLICATIONS AND INFORMATION TO BE VERIFIED.............................................................................. 60 School-selected verification, Verification tracking groups, Changing tracking groups, Reporting results for groups V4 and V5, Verification exclusions, Verification following disasters, Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Act

DOCUMENTATION........................................................................................................................................... 65 Documenting AGI, taxes paid, and other tax data with the DRT; Using a joint return to figure individual AGI and taxes paid; Using the tax transcript; Rollovers and verification; Using the tax return; If a W-2 is not available; Immigrants and tax filing; Special situations; Household size; Number in college; High school completion; ATB alternatives for high school completion; Identity and statement of educational purpose

INTERIM DISBURSEMENTS............................................................................................................................ 79 Overpayments from interim disbursements, Schools that can't make interim disbursements

UPDATING INFORMATION............................................................................................................................. 80 Parent remarriage after applying

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CORRECTING ERRORS..................................................................................................................................... 81 CHANGES IN A SELECTED APPLICANT'S FAFSA....................................................................................... 81

Campus-based and Direct Loan changes, Pell changes, Selection after disbursement, Disbursing unsubsidized aid, After documentation is complete HOW TO SUBMIT CORRECTIONS AND UPDATES..................................................................................... 82 Using the online FAFSA, Submitting changes via FAA Access to CPS Online or EDE, Using the SAR to make corrections, Adding schools and changing a student's address, Signatures DEADLINES AND FAILURE TO SUBMIT DOCUMENTATION.................................................................... 84 Campus-Based and Direct Loan, Pell Grants, Other considerations, Late disbursements, Verification status codes SUGGESTED VERIFICATION TEXT................................................................................................................. 86

Chapter 5: Special Cases............................................................................ 87

PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT.......................................................................................................................... 87 Entire text of the HEA section on PJ, Dependent students without parent support, Refusing or reducing a loan

DEPENDENCY OVERRIDES............................................................................................................................. 91 Unable to provide parent data, Overrides and professional judgment

CONFLICTING INFORMATION....................................................................................................................... 93 Subsequent ISIRs, Discrepant tax data, Marital and tax filing status, Resolution of conflicting information

REFERRAL OF FRAUD CASES......................................................................................................................... 95 OIG address and phone numbers, Reporting Fraud Rings (Distance Education), FSA Feedback Center

UNACCOMPANIED HOMELESS YOUTH....................................................................................................... 96 Confirmation not required, Homeless youth definitions

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Introduction

This guide is intended for college financial aid administrators and counselors who help students begin the aid process--filing the Free

Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA?) form, verifying infor-

mation, and making corrections and other changes to the information reported on the FAFSA.

a

Throughout the Federal Student Aid Handbook we use "college," "school," and "institution" interchangeably unless a more specific use is given. Similarly, "student," "applicant," and "aid recipient" are synonyms. "Parents" in this volume refers to the parents of dependent students, and "you" refers to the primary audience of the Handbook: financial aid administrators at colleges. "We" indicates the U.S. Department of Education (the Department, ED), and "federal student aid" and "Title IV aid" are synonymous terms for the financial aid offered by the Department.

We appreciate any comments that you have on the Application and Verification Guide, as well as all the volumes of the FSA Handbook. We revise the text based on questions and feedback from the financial aid community, so please write us at fsaschoolspubs@ about how to improve the Handbook so that it is always clear and informative.

Notes on Active Links

At the top of each page you will find links to the Handbook glossary and acronyms, the Code of Federal Regulations, and Dear Colleague Letters.

Glossary CFR DCL

Changes for 2021-2022

On the bottom of page 3 we provided additional information where students can obtain and download the myStudentAid app.

We added the definition of a valid ISIR or SAR on page 7.

Throughout chapter 2, all dates and pertinent tax return and schedule information have been updated to conform to the requirements associated with the 2021-2022 processing year and the 2019 base tax year.

On page 15 we provided new information pertaining to the DRT's ability to automatically answer the question about whether or not a tax filer filed a Schedule 1, including current exceptions.

FSA HB January 2021

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Application and Verification Guide 2021-2022

On page 48 we increased the income threshold for the automatic zero EFC consideration to $27,000.

In chapter 3 we removed the EFC calculation worksheets and tables from the end of the chapter and instead refer individuals to the 2021-2022 EFC Formula Guide.

We added a sentence on page 63 reminding schools that when reporting corrections for V4 or V5 outcomes in FAA Access to CPS Online, the latest outcome results will supplant any previously reported outcome results.

We provided examples of acceptable signatures for paper and electronic tax returns on page 70.

On page 74 we clarified that an IRS Request Flag value of 07 will be returned if the tax filer or the IRS amends a tax filer's return.

On page 78 we added a definition of a valid unexpired governmentissued photo ID for identity proposes including the exclusion of military IDs.

In Chapter 4, we removed the section discussing paper FAFSA corrections by phone with the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) as that functionality was removed from FSAIC a couple of years ago.

We removed the suggested text from the end of Chapter 4 and instead refer individuals to the appropriate electronic announcement to review the suggested text for the 2021-2022 processing year.

In chapter 5 we added clarifying guidance on page 89 indicating that a school cannot perform professional judgement for a student after that student ceases to be eligible, including when the student is no longer enrolled.

On page 95 we added the new fraud ring reporting procedures schools need to follow when communicating with the Inspector General's Office.

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FSA HB January 2021

Glossary CFR DCL

a The Application

Process: FAFSA to ISIR

1 CHAPTER

The laws governing the Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs require that a person

apply for aid with a form provided by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and that

no fee be charged for processing it. This is the Free Application for Federal

Student Aid (FAFSA?) form.

To be considered for federal student aid, a student must complete a FAFSA form. It collects financial and other information used to calculate the expected family contribution (EFC) and to determine a student's eligibility through electronic database matches with other agencies.

The FAFSA form is the only form students must fill out to apply for Title IV aid. A school cannot require extra information from students except for verification or resolution of conflicting information. However, a school may require additional information for other purposes, such as packaging private or institutional aid. If the school collects additional information that affects Title IV eligibility, it must take the information into account when awarding Title IV aid.

TYPES OF APPLICATIONS

Most FAFSA forms are filed electronically, but there are other options.

FAFSA online Students, parents, and preparers can complete an application online and

send it directly to the Central Processing System (CPS). They can also correct previously submitted data that was not imported from the IRS. Help is available for students online or by calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). To make using the Web application easier, ED produces the FAFSA on the Web worksheet, which can be printed from the website.

myStudentAid mobile app Another way to apply is through the FAFSA feature of the myStuden-

tAid mobile app, which is the FAFSA filing component of the myStudentAid app for mobile devices. Students, parents, and preparers may use it to begin, complete, and/or submit a new or renewal FAFSA. The myStudentAid app is available on the App Store (iOS) or on Google Play (Android). Help is available in the app or by calling the FSAIC.

FSA HB January 2021

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Application and Verification Guide 2021-2022

Glossary CFR DCL

FAA Access to CPS Online You can submit a student's application data at FAA Access to CPS

Online. You can also connect to the site through EDExpress.

Before submitting the data, print the signature page/FAFSA summary for the student (and parent if appropriate) to sign, or have the student fill out and sign a paper FAFSA form. As noted at the end of Chapter 2, you will need to retain either the signed signature page/summary or signed FAFSA form for your records, even if the student doesn't receive aid or attend your school.

Paper (PDF) FAFSA Form

More than 99% of applications are filed electronically, so the only paper option is the PDF FAFSA form, which students can get at . They can print the PDF and fill it out by hand, or they can type their data on the PDF before printing and mailing it. If needed, they can request single copies from the FSAIC by calling 1-800-433-3243.

Other than these limited paper FAFSA form options, FSA no longer prints or mails aid-related publications, though they are available online for users to download and print. For more information on electronic versions of publications, fact sheets, online tools, and other resources, please go to FinancialAidToolkit.resources and/or resources.

Applying electronically is better than using the paper FAFSA form because of the following advantages: faster processing; the availability of online help; skip logic, which allows applicants to skip over questions that don't pertain to them; and fewer errors and rejected applications because internal and end-of-entry data edits ensure that required fields are completed and conflicts are resolved prior to submission.

FAFSA on the phone

Students who have limited or no Internet access and face pressing deadlines can choose to complete and submit their application by calling 1-800-433-3243, telling a representative they would like to complete their FAFSA form over the phone and providing their information. This typically takes about half an hour. Students will receive a paper student aid report (SAR) 7?10 days later, which they (and their parents, if appropriate) must sign and return. Because this is not the preferred method to apply for aid, it should be used sparingly and only by those students identified previously.

FSA ID

Students use the FSA ID to log on to the FAFSA online and other FSA websites with a username and password they create. An FSA ID is also needed for students, parents, and preparers to use the FAFSA feature of the myStudentAid mobile app. Parents and students can electronically sign the FAFSA form but must do so with their own FSA ID. A verified email address or cell phone number can be used instead of the username. See the announcement of May 16, 2019, for recent information. Users can create an FSA ID online.

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FSA HB January 2021

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