FAFSA processing email about IRS tax info - are they redoing my already completed application?

This happened to me last week! I called FSA and spent 2 hours on hold only to be told it's a \

2 HOURS on hold??! That's insane. Did they at least confirm your aid package wouldn't change? That's my biggest worry. My daughter is counting on that money and already accepted the school's offer.

Don't panic yet. This is probably just part of their verification process. Sometimes they do an additional IRS data pull even after initial processing. I got something similar for my son's application and nothing changed with his aid. Keep an eye on your SAI score though - if that doesn't change, you're fine.

Thank you! I'll definitely keep checking the SAI. It's currently 3520, so hopefully that doesn't change. But why would they need to pull tax info again if they already processed it? The whole system is so confusing.

theyve been doing this alot this year... its so anoying. my daughters fafsa got processed then we got this email then 3 weeks later we got selected for verification and had to send w-2s and everything. the schools financial aid office said they had to hold her package until it was done. took forEVER.

Oh no, that's exactly what I'm worried about! Did her aid amount change after going through all that? We're cutting it close with tuition deposits due soon.

This is a standard verification email from the Department of Education. While they've already processed your initial application, they randomly select a percentage of applications for verification each year. This doesn't automatically mean your daughter's aid will change, but you should be prepared to provide additional documentation if requested.\n\nI'd recommend logging into studentaid.gov and checking if your application status has changed to \

Just checked and it still says \

im pretty sure its a scam email. i got something similar but my sons school said they didn't send anything. check the sender email address closely!!!

While you're right to be cautious about potential FAFSA scams, this particular message appears to be legitimate. It's coming from the Department of Education's IRS data retrieval process. You can verify by logging into studentaid.gov and checking your communication history. Never click links in suspicious emails - always go directly to the official site.

If you're having trouble reaching someone at Federal Student Aid to get clarification, you might want to try using Claimyr. I was in a similar situation last month with verification questions and spent days trying to get through. Claimyr got me connected to an FSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of hours on hold. Their site is claimyr.com and they have a demo video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ\n\nThe agent I spoke with confirmed that these IRS data confirmation emails are normal and explained exactly what was happening with my daughter's application. Definitely worth it for the peace of mind!

Thank you for the suggestion! If I need to call them I'll definitely check that out - 2+ hours on hold isn't something I can manage with my work schedule. Did they explain why they send these emails even after the application is processed?

Update: I just found the official FSA explanation for this! It's part of what they call \

That's incredibly helpful, thank you! I wish they'd just explain this in the email instead of sending cryptic messages that cause panic. Really appreciate the info!

Same thing happening with my son's application right now. His SAI actually went DOWN slightly after this (good for us!) because they found a minor discrepancy in our favor. Financial aid office said it's happening to tons of people this year because of the new FAFSA system.

lucky you! ours went UP by like $1200 and my daughter lost part of her pell grant. still fighting with them about it. something about retirement contributions being counted differently.

UPDATE: Relieved to share that nothing changed with our aid package! I checked again today and everything is still showing as processed with the same SAI. The financial aid office confirmed they haven't received any updates or verification requests. Thanks everyone for the help and information - this forum saved me a lot of stress and unnecessary phone calls!

Great news! Thanks for updating us. This is exactly why I tell families not to panic about these notices - most of the time they're just routine checks that don't affect anything.