D YNAMICS OF V ERIFICATION A graduate level verification course ISFAA Spring Conference April 16, 2013

T ODAY ’ S INSTRUCTORS Sue Allmon, WGU Indiana Lori Love, UIndy

V ERIFICATION C OURSE 2013 Guiding Principles Federal Register Dear Colleague Letters Electronic Announcements Program Integrity Questions & Answers NASFAA News SYLLABUS Validating tax information Tracking groups V1 – V5 Updated guidance – Program Integrity Q&A Discussion board for implementation Verification Resources for via FSA

Validating Tax Information (taxfiler) IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) is available to be utilized by family 2-3 weeks after filing electronically 8-11 weeks if paper return If taxes owed, may impact ability to use Data elements for taxfiler transferred by IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) IRS Request Flag = 02 No additional tax information needed Data elements for taxfiler where DRT not used or information changed Must obtain tax return transcript

REMINDER: N ONFILER PROOF OF INCOME Nonfilers Signed statement certifying not filed and not required to file for tax year Sources and amounts of income earned Copy of W2 for each source Validating Tax Information Obtain Tax Return Transcript Student Online ( Telephone ( ) Form 4506T-EZ or 4605T fax or mail form Local tax center Institution Certified by IRS to request & collect tax transcripts Third party Vendor requests & collects transcripts

S OURCE FOR VERIFYING TAX INFO REPORTED GEN and 11/2/12 Electronic Announcement expires after GEN governs ED Reaffirms that Paper Copies of Tax Returns Generally Not Acceptable for Verification Validating Tax Information Expiration of special situations Acceptable circumstances for paper return Identity theft Form filed with IRS Signed copy of paper return Copy of police report or signed statement that filer was victim Amended tax return Signed copy of original paper return or tax return transcript Signed copy of Form 1040X Foreign tax returns Converted into US dollars

U NSUBSIDIZED AID VERIFICATION Students only eligible for unsubsidized Title IV funding are not required to complete the verification process. Tracking Groups Step towards customization Five verification tracking groups V1 – Standard V2 – SNAP V3 – Child support paid V4 – Custom V5 – Aggregate DE asks that we not do ‘one size fits all’ verification worksheet

Location of Tracking Flag on ISIR

Tracking Group V1 Standard Same items as for For all Household size Number in college Child support paid if reported on FAFSA SNAP if reported on FAFSA Taxfilers AGI US tax paid Untaxed IRA distributions Untaxed pensions Education credits IRA deductions Tax-exempt interest Nonfilers Income earned from work

Tracking Group V2 SNAP Signed statement from student (or parent if dependent) certifying that they or a member of household received SNAP in calendar years 2012 and/or 2013 Only have to verify if SNAP is noted on FAFSA Student will only be selected for this group, if SNAP noted on FAFSA

F OOD FOR THOUGHT Would you consider collecting household information to match up against child support paid to make sure child isn’t in the household and counted twice? See FAFSA question 91B See AVG page 18 Tracking Group V3 Child Support Paid Signed statement from student (or parent if dependent). Statement to contain: Name of person who paid child support Name of person to whom child support was paid Name(s) of children for whom child support was paid Amount of child support paid during the calendar year Only have to verify child support paid, nothing else, unless you notice other conflicting information

W HO MAINTAINS DOCUMENTATION Question: How do you plan to collect high school completion status? DE states that documentation may be maintained by another office on campus as long as there is a clear audit trail. Tracking Group V4 Custom Child support paid SNAP High school completion status Copy of diploma Copy of H.S. transcript with graduation date GED certificate Home schooled credential Academic transcript with 2 years completed & fully transferrable to your institution Identity and statement of educational purpose Next slide……..

D EPARTMENT OF ED SAYS Question: Can we roll over identity and statement of educational purpose? Answer: If identity is verified, applicant may not be selected to verify identity. Tracking Group V4 continued Identity and statement of educational purpose Government issued photo ID Educational purpose statement provided by DE and cannot be altered In-person Assigned school official to collect Date received Name and title of school official Not in-person Notarized copy of government issued photo ID Notarized copy of statement of educational purpose Paper must be sent to school. School must maintain paper copy, cannot accept fax/ of items

H OW TO COLLECT Aggregate form or multiple forms for V5 group? Tracking Group V5 Aggregate All data elements in V1 through V4 Only have to verify SNAP if indicated on FAFSA Only have to verify child support paid if amount is shown on FAFSA

U PDATED GUIDANCE R EVIEW P ROGRAM I NTEGRITY – Q & A HTTP :// WWW 2. ED. GOV / POLICY / HIGHERED / REG / HEARULEMAKING /2009/ INTEGRITY - QA. HTML

V ERIFICATION R ESOURCES VIA FSA 10/29/10 Final Rule (Pages and ) iLibrary – Electronic Announcements year=2012 Dear Colleague Letter - GEN Federal Notice on Verification Changes A.pdf

V ERIFICATION R ESOURCES VIA FSA Q&A on Program Integrity website: erification.html Verification – Suggested Text ed Text1314.html Application and Verification Guide Acceptable IRS Documentation for Verification ed Text1314.html

V ERIFICATION R ESOURCES VIA FSA Electronic Data Exchange (EDE) Technical Reference 2Update.pdf ISIR Guide Electronic Announcement on Limited Circumstances When a Signed Copy of Tax Return or Other Documentation is Acceptable for Completing Verification tancesWhenSignedCopyofTaxReturnisAcceptable.html

D ISCUSSION B OARD implementation