General Verification Frequently Asked Questions:
Students will also be sent an email from the Office of Financial Aid when they complete their FAFSA instructing them to log into their Hornet Hub to view any outstanding verification documents. All verification documents can be accessed via Hornet Hub, on our website, or in person.
- Verification Worksheet
- Tax Return Transcript
- W-2 Forms
- Monthly Expense Form
- Dependency Status Documents
- Marital Status Information
- Social Security Card
- Proof of Citizenship/Permanent Resident Card
Other documents may be needed for verification or to resolve conflicting information. The type of documents required will vary from student to student, as not all students selected for verification will have to submit the same documents.
If a student or parent needs to make corrections to their FAFSA they will need to log onto fafsa.gov, enter their FSA ID, and choose “Make FAFSA corrections”.
To be considered an Independent student, a student must meet one of the following criteria:
- will be 24 or older by December 31 of the school year for which you are applying for aid;
- is married as of the date the FAFSA is submitted;
- At the beginning of the school year, the student will be working on a master’s or doctorate program (such as an M.A., M.B.A., M.D., J.D., Ph.D., Ed.D., graduate certificate, etc.);
- is currently serving on active duty in the U.S. armed forces for purposes other than training, (If you are a National Guard or Reserves enlistee, is on active duty for other than state or training purposes);
- is a veteran of the United States Armed Forces;
- have children who will receive more than half of their support from the student between July 1 and June 30 of the awarding year;
- at any time since the student turned age 13, both of their parents were deceased, the student was in foster care, or was a dependent or ward of the court;
- it has been determined by a court in the student’s state of legal residence that they are an emancipated minor or that they are in a legal guardianship;
- at any time on or after July 1, 2016, the student was determined to be an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or were self-supporting and at risk of being homeless, as determined by (a) their high school or district homeless liaison, (b) the director of an emergency shelter or transitional housing program funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or (c) the director of a runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program.
If the student fully meets any one of the items listed above, they are considered Independent for financial aid purposes. The Office of Financial Aid has the ability to institutionally select students for verification if they answered “Yes” to one of the above questions. If a student is selected based on their dependency status, they must provide all necessary documentation to the Office of Financial Aid as soon as possible.
- Legal Parent: The dependent student’s biological or adoptive parent;
- Married: Spouses, regardless of gender, considered legally married in the state or other jurisdiction in which the marriage took place;
- Remarried: Biological parents are required to include their current spouses information (i.e. the student’s “stepparent”) more information may be found at Student Aid;
- Separated: Spouses who consider themselves no longer married for an indefinite period of time or have a legal declaration of separation;
- Note: Separated spouses living together must report their marital status as “Married or remarried” on the FAFSA.
- Divorced: Former spouses declared no longer married by a court of law.
- Note: Divorced spouses or parents who were never married and are living together must report their marital status as “Unmarried and both parents living together” on the FAFSA.
If a student does not provide the necessary documents to the Office of Financial Aid by the fourth week of the semester, all of their Federal, State, Institutional financial aid, and student loans may be cancelled. Any tuition, fees and late charges will be the student’s responsibility.
In Person:
Monday – Friday: 9:00am to 5:00pm
SU Office of Financial Aid – Wilkins Building
1460 University Drive, Winchester, VA 22601
Email:
Fax:
(540) 665-4939
Note: Some verification documents may only be submitted in person or by mail. Also, remember to protect your privacy please redact your social security number on documents submitted via fax or electronically. Please check with the Office of Financial Aid if you have any questions
Tax Information Frequently Asked Questions:
There are certain times where students and parents are not given the option to utilize the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. If you are unable to view or link your tax information using the DRT, you must submit a Tax Return Transcript to the Office of Financial Aid.
Do not make any changes to the IRS information once it has been retrieved. Doing so will render the retrieved data invalid, and you will be institutionally selected for verification.
Note: If you utilize the DRT, please be aware you will receive notification in the mail stating your taxes have been accessed. If you receive this notice in the mail, but did not attempt or use the DRT – please contact the IRS immediately.
- To obtain online: Click on “Get My Tax Record” from the website provided above. Students will then need to set up an account with the IRS in order to retrieve their transcripts. To do so, they will need to provide a personal account number from a credit card, car loan, mortgage, home equity loan, or line of credit in order to verify their identity.
- To obtain via mail: Click on “Get My Tax Record” from the website provided above. Students will then need to enter personal identifying information such as: name, address, SSN, and DOB.
- If ordering by phone, call 1-800-908-9946 and follow the instructions.
Dependent Students
- If a student did not file a Federal Tax Return, and they are not required to do so by the IRS, then they must self-certify this information on the verification worksheet provided by The Office of Financial Aid. (These students are not required to submit a Verification of Non-filing letter)
- If a student worked, but did not file in the tax year they are still required to provide a copy of all W2’s to the Office of Financial Aid.
Independent Students
- If a student did not file a Federal Tax Return, and they are not required to do so by the IRS, then they must submit a Verification of Non-filing letter. The student must also self-certify this information on the verification worksheet provided by The Office of Financial Aid.
- If a student worked, but did not file in the tax year they are still required to provide a copy of all W2’s to the Office of Financial Aid.
Parent(s) of Dependent Students
- If parent(s) of a dependent student did not file a Federal Tax Return, and they are not required to do so by the IRS, then they must submit a Verification of Non-filing letter. The parent(s) must also self-certify this information on the verification worksheet provided by The Office of Financial Aid.
- If parent(s) worked, but did not file in the tax year they are still required to provide a copy of all W2’s to the Office of Financial Aid.
To obtain an IRS Verification of Non-filing letter online or by mail:
- Go to the Get Transcript section of the IRS’s website and click on “Get Transcript by MAIL.” The student will be instructed to list their social security number, date of birth, street address, and zip code. After that is complete, they will be presented with different options for ordering a transcript. Select “Return Transcript.” Select the tax year in which you are submitting documentation for.
OR
- Download the IRS Form 4506-T and follow the instructions on the form.
- A copy of IRS Form 4868, ‘‘Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return,’’ that the individual filed with the IRS for the tax year (IRS Record of Account transcript can be used in lieu of Form 4868);
- If applicable, a copy of the IRS’s approval of an unexpired extension beyond the automatic six-month extension if the individual requested an additional extension of the filing time for the tax year;
- A copy of the tax filer’s IRS Form W–2 for each source of employment income received for the tax year;
AND
- If self-employed, a signed statement certifying the amount of AGI and U.S. income tax paid for the tax year.
Once the student/parent(s) have filed their taxes, they are required to submit all tax information to the Office of Financial Aid to complete the verification process. All financial aid for the student will be placed on a hold status until the Office of Financial Aid has received and processed official tax documents.
If the student/spouse or parent(s) filed an IRS Form 1040X Amended Tax Return, the “Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return,” they must submit the following:
- An IRS Tax Return Transcript that includes information from the original tax return
AND
- A signed copy of the IRS Form 1040X (the “Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return”) that was filed with the IRS;
- A copy of all W-2’s for the applicable tax year
*NOTE: If you filed an amended return, you will likely not receive the option to link with the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.
- Contact the IRS by telephone at 1-800-908-4490. Once the tax filer’s identity is authenticated by the IRS, the IRS will mail a Tax Return Database View (TRDBV) printout to the individual;
- Submit the Tax Return Database View (TRDBV) printout to the Office of Financial Aid;
- Submit a statement signed and dated by the tax filer indicating that they were victims of IRS tax-related identity theft and that the IRS has been made aware of the tax-related identity theft.