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Verification

The Department of Education has waived the V1 Standard verification requirement for the 22-23 Award Year. If you were selected for V1 Standard verification please review your MyFA on your student portal. If you are in the process of completing verification, please note the verification documents will not be required for financial aid purposes for the 22-23 award year. IF you were selected for V4 or V5 verification groups, you will need to complete the Educational and Statement Identity portion of either group.

PLEASE NOTE: The State of Illinois HAS NOT waived the verification requirements. If you have MAP eligibility and your FAFSA was selected for verification, you will be required to complete the process.

Verification is a process in which the Financial Aid Office confirms the information you reported on the FAFSA. Approximately 30% of students are selected for verification each year. If you are selected for verification, you may be asked to provide a copy of yours and your parents' (if applicable) IRS tax transcript and complete a verification worksheet. Illinois residents must also prove their residency status. The Financial Aid Office will notify you by mail if you are selected for verification. You may also check your MySIC, Financial Aid Document Tracking to see what forms our office needs to complete your financial aid. Verification forms are located on the Forms page.

Verifying Tax Information

Students and parents are highly encouraged to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) on the FAFSA. The IRS DRT allows students and parents to link directly to the IRS and transfer their income tax information to the FAFSA. This process ensures the correct information is reported on the FAFSA and avoids having to contact the IRS for a tax transcript.

Exceptions

You do not qualify to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool if any of the below statements apply to you:

  • You are married and you filed your tax return as "married filing separately."
  • Your marital status changed as of January 1, 2020.
  • You filed an amended tax return.
  • You did not file a U.S. federal tax return

Instead, you must submit a copy of your 2020 IRS tax return. If you are married and did not file your tax return as "married filing jointly," you must also submit a copy of you and your spouse's 2020 IRS tax return.

Amended Tax Return

If you, your accountant, or the IRS amended your tax return, you must submit a copy of your IRS tax return and a copy of your signed amended 1040X tax return filed to the IRS.

Victim of Identity Theft

Victims of identity theft must call the IRS's Identity Protection Specialized Unit (IPSU) toll free number at 800.908.4490. After the IPSU authenticates the tax filer's identity, the tax filer may ask the IRS to mail an alternate paper tax return transcript known as the TRDBV (Transcript DataBase View). The TRDBV received from the IRS should be submitted to the Financial Aid Office.

Once the Financial Aid Office receives all the requested information, we will compare the information provided with the information on the FAFSA. If our office identifies any discrepancies, we will submit the appropriate changes. You will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) reflecting the changes. You will receive an award letter approximately one to two weeks after all documents and corrections are received.