FAFSA Online Application and Federal Tax Return Forms

Data retrieval of your federal tax return forms from the IRS was an option for most users started January 30, 2011. If you filed your federal income taxes electronically, the information will be available in 1 or 2 weeks. If you mailed your federal tax forms, it will be 6-8 weeks before the information can be transferred.


This year the retrieval tool also offers a Spanish version. Both FAFSA and IRS information can be accessed in Spanish.

This is how data retrieval works:

1. If you indicate that you already filed your tax return for the previous year, you will be shown a screen saying, "View Your IRS Information".
2. You must enter your financial aid PIN number and then click the link to the IRS (or you can skip this option and enter your info, yourself).
3. You will be warned that you are leaving the FAFSA website, and a new window will open to the IRS site, where you will have to enter your tax id info-
• name
• SSN
• date of birth
• address
• filing status
4. After you are authenticated, your tax information will be displayed. There will be a checkbox asking you if you want to transfer your information to FAFSA. Simply click on the "transfer now" button and a window will reopen to your FAFSA with information fields, pre-filled.

This option has some advantages- for instance it eliminates any of the guesswork about which numbers belong where, i.e. income or assets (like FAFSA deferred compensation).

A couple of things:

-If you decide not to transfer your info, you can still print it out before you log out of the IRS.

-Any information that is transferred to FAFSA and then changed will be noted.

• The way it works is that information that is pre-filled will be labeled, "Transferred from the IRS”. If it is changed, it will not have that label.

Eligibility for Transfer of Federal Tax Return Forms

• be filing an original or renew FAFSA form- not FAFSA corrections.
• have a FAFSA PIN
• have a valid social security number (SSN)- not an "888" identifier (used by Pacific Islanders)
• be able to show your marital status date for the tax year (not the day you are filling out the financial aid application).
• be able to answer that you have filed for the previous year

If you do not meet these conditions, you will not be able to access the data sharing on the FAFSA website. There are also conditions that will let you access it, but you probably shouldn't. For instance:

If you filed an amended return- only the original data will be filled in.

If "married, filing separately" applicants use this feature, some of the data they need will not be filled in.

If you filed a Puerto Rican tax return, some of the needed data would be missing.

Anyone who uses this option will have comments added to their FAFSA application indicating these things:

• Student data was transferred by the IRS and submitted without changes.
• Parent data was transferred by the IRS and submitted without changes.
• Student data was transferred by the IRS and at least one item was changed before submission.
• Parent data was transferred by the IRS and at least one item was changed before submission.
• Student data was transferred by the IRS and at least one item was changed after submission
• Parent data was transferred by the IRS and at least one item was changed after submission

Sound Off on the new IRS data-sharing option

Is it going to help you or hurt you? Will you use it? Are you concerned about verification if you don't use it? Let us know!

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So, will you choose the printable FAFSA application or the FAFSA online application?

If your FAFSA deadline is close, choose the online form.

If you can't answer basic questions like, "What does FAFSA stand for?" choose the online form.