Schools May Verify Some FAFSA Details for 2027–2028 Aid
Published Date: 10/23/2026
Notice
Summary
If you’re applying for federal student aid for the 2027-2028 school year, some of your FAFSA info might need to be double-checked by your school. Most tax info will come straight from the IRS, so you won’t have to prove it again, but if you enter tax details yourself, be ready to show proof. This helps speed up the process and keeps everything fair and accurate for students and families.
Analyzed Economic Effects
8 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 5 costs, 0 mixed.
IRS-transferred Tax Data Treated as Verified
Under the FUTURE Act, much of your 2025 tax return information (including spouse or parents when applicable) will be transferred directly from the IRS to FAFSA for the 2027-2028 award year and will essentially be treated as already verified. If your tax information is transferred and not edited, you generally will not need to provide additional documentation for those tax items.
Manually Entered Tax Info May Require Proof
If your 2025 income or tax information could not be obtained from the IRS and you manually entered it on your FAFSA, that manually entered information may be selected for verification and you must provide acceptable documentation (for example, IRS transcripts, copies of tax returns and schedules, or W-2s).
Special Tax Situations Need Specific Documents
If you have a special 2025 tax situation—such as filing a joint return where only one filer is used for FAFSA, a filing extension beyond the automatic six-month extension, an amended return, an IRS tax-related identity theft case, or rollovers in untaxed pension/IRA amounts—you must provide specific documentation (for example, IRS transcripts, IRS Form 1040X, a copy of a filed return and schedules, IRS extension approval, IRS identity-theft letter 4674C, W-2s, or signed statements confirming rollovers).
Non-Filers Must Prove Non-Filing and Income
If you were not required to file a 2025 income tax return, you must provide a signed and dated statement certifying non-filing and listing sources and amounts of earnings for 2025, copies of any 2025 W-2s (or equivalents), and verification of non-filing dated on or after October 1, 2026 (dependent students are excluded from the non-filer verification requirement).
Multiple Options to Verify Identity
To verify your identity you can appear in person with acceptable ID, use an entity that performed remote identity proofing compliant with NIST Identity Assurance Level 2 (NIST IAL2), provide a notarized copy of ID, or appear on a video call and present ID; for confined or incarcerated individuals in eligible prison education programs, an authorized correctional facility official’s verification is accepted and must be documented. Institutions must keep annotated copies or confirmations showing the date and reviewer.
IRS-Transferred Family Size Exempts Verification
If your family size for the 2027-2028 award year is transferred directly from the IRS and is used in the Pell Grant eligibility determination and/or the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation, that family size does not need to be verified by the institution.
When Family Size Is Not Transferred You Must Prove It
If family size for 2027-2028 was not transferred from the IRS, or if you updated family size on the FAFSA, you must provide a signed statement (by the applicant and, for dependent students, a parent) listing the name, age, and relationship of each family member for the 2027-2028 award year; certain small ISIR family-size scenarios also do not require verification as listed in the notice.
Selection Flags and Verification Tracking Groups
If the Secretary selects your FAFSA for verification, your ISIR will include flags showing selection and the verification tracking group (for example, V1 Standard Tax Filers or V5 Aggregate Tax Filers) which indicate which FAFSA items (income, family size, identity, etc.) must be verified; the FAFSA Submission Summary will direct you to contact your institution for next steps.
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