Verification Requirements for Federal Financial Aid Programs
Students sometimes make errors on their Free Application for Federal Financial Aid ("FAFSA"). The FAFSA processor will randomly flag applications each year for verifcation . This means that schools cannot finalize your eligibility for federal aid funds until you submit document that confirms the data on your original FAFSA.
Counselors must also resolve any conflicting data before we can finalize a student's eligibility for federal financial aid funds. Because incoming freshmen have early application deadlines, their awards are tentative until all required documentation has been submitted and reviewed .
The priority application deadline for returning students is May 1 of each year. Therefore, we expect that these students will be able to submit all required documentation before their aid awards are calculated for the upcoming academic year.
The Department of Education outlnes the minimum policies and procedures that schools should use each year in the Application and Verification Guide
Required Verification Items for 2008-2009:
- Household Size
- Number in College
- "Base Year" Federal Adjusted Gross Income --2007 is the "base year" for the 2008-2009 academic year
- Foreign Exchange Rate - this chart, from the Federal Reserve Bank, may be useful to families who are earning income outside of the United States and who must translate those earnings to the equivalent U.S. dollars.
- "Base Year" Federal Income Tax Paid
- Certain types of untaxed income and benefits:
- Social Security Benefits
- Child Support
- IRA/Keogh deductions
- Foreign Income Exclusion
- Earned Income Tax Credit
- Interest on Tax Free Bonds
- All other untaxed income included on the U.S. Federal Income tax return, excluding information on the schedules
Federal Verification Worksheets
Students picked for verification must complete and return a federal verification worksheet. Please attach complete (all schedules and W-2 forms) of student and parent (if dependent by federal guidelines) federal tax returns to the form. Please make sure both you and your parent have signed the bottom of each return
- 2008-2009 Dependent Student Worksheet
- 2008-2009 Independent Student Worksheet
- Non-Filing Statement (for Tax Year 2007)
Institutional Forms
Loyola University MAY require students to complete supplement forms to further clarify the information on a student's FAFSA
- 2008-2009 Parent Business Value Verification Form
- 2008-2009 Sibling Enrollment Verification Form
- 2008-2009 Request for Reconsideration Due to Impact of Natural Disaster
- Ophan or Ward of the Court Certification
Internal Revenue Service ("IRS" ) Publications and Resources
- IRS Publication 17: Your Federal Tax Return
- IRS Publication 970: Tax Benefits for Education
- Frequently Asked Tax Questions and Answers
- Information for Families Impacted by the 2005 hurricanes
- Publication 525:Taxable and Non-Taxable Incom e- see page 20 for information on reporting funds received through the Road Home program
- FAQ for Hurricane Victims - Grant Proceeds
- Families whose 2007 tax returns include Road Home proceeds should contact their assigned financial aid counselor for further instructions.
- Tax Favored Treatment for Early Distributions from IRAs and other Retirement Plans for Victims of Hurricane Katrina
Deadlines:
All federal aid should be processed and credited to a student's account before the last day of the semester. We would hope families would submit any requested information within2 weeks of the initial request. All information should be submitted no later than 30 days before the last day of class each semester in order to insure sufficient time for processing any pending student loan application.
Counselors will review your information and submit any required corrections directly to the federal processors. Counselors will notify students of any changes in their aid eligibility that result from any corrections made.