FAFSA says I have no tax record for 2023-2024 after filing with TurboTax - What now?
I'm totally stuck with my FAFSA application because the IRS is saying they have no record of my 2023-2024 tax information! I requested my tax transcript online through the IRS website and got the message that there's no information available. I definitely e-filed using TurboTax back in February and even got my refund already! My college financial aid office is saying they can't process anything without the IRS verification, and the FAFSA deadline for priority aid at my school is coming up in 2 weeks. Has anyone dealt with this? What's my next step when the IRS claims they don't have my tax info even though I definitely filed?
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Dylan Evans
sounds like ur looking at the wrong tax year. FAFSA 2023-2024 needs 2021 taxes not 2022 or 2023. check again with the right year
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Fatima Al-Mansour
•I thought FAFSA 2023-2024 used 2022 taxes? At least that's what my financial aid counselor told me. Now I'm really confused...
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Sofia Gomez
There's a lot of confusion with FAFSA years vs. tax years. For the 2023-2024 FAFSA (which you file during 2023 for school starting fall 2023), you need your 2021 tax information (from the taxes you filed in spring 2022). If you're actually working on the 2024-2025 FAFSA, then you need 2022 tax information. The new 2025-2026 FAFSA will use 2023 tax information, but that application doesn't open until December 2024.
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Fatima Al-Mansour
•Thank you for explaining! I was definitely confused about which year's taxes I needed. So for my situation, I'm filling out the FAFSA for the upcoming academic year (2024-2025), so I need my 2022 taxes, not 2023. That makes sense why the IRS couldn't find my 2023 info!
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StormChaser
I had this EXACT problem last month!!! The IRS website is a NIGHTMARE. After trying for weeks to get my tax transcript online, I finally called the IRS and spent 3+ hours on hold just to be told that sometimes it takes up to 8 weeks after filing for your return to show up in their system for transcript requests. Even though they already processed my refund?!?! Makes ZERO sense. The financial aid office ended up giving me an extension but I almost lost my grants.
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Dmitry Petrov
•Wait, is it possible that FSA might accept alternative proof if the IRS transcript isn't available? Maybe bank statements showing tax refund deposit or your copy of the TurboTax confirmation? Seems crazy they'd penalize students for IRS delays...
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Ava Williams
Financial aid advisor here. This is a common issue that has a few potential solutions: 1. Double-check you're requesting the correct tax year as others mentioned. For 2024-2025 FAFSA, you need 2022 tax info (not 2023). 2. If you've confirmed you're requesting the correct year and still have issues, you can request a Tax Return Transcript by mail instead of online. This sometimes works when the online system doesn't recognize your information. 3. If you're selected for verification, many schools will accept a signed copy of your tax return with a statement explaining why the transcript isn't available. 4. For the future, remember you can use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool directly within the FAFSA application to automatically import your tax info without needing separate transcripts. Talk to your financial aid office ASAP about a verification extension while you sort this out. Most schools have procedures for these situations.
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Fatima Al-Mansour
•Thank you so much for these clear steps! I'll definitely try requesting by mail if I still have issues after checking the correct tax year. Do you know how long the mail request typically takes to arrive? I'm worried about missing deadlines.
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Ava Williams
Mail requests for tax transcripts usually take 5-10 business days to arrive. Given your deadline is in two weeks, I would recommend speaking with your financial aid office immediately to explain the situation. Most schools can place a hold on your file rather than rejecting your application outright, especially if you show you're actively working to resolve the issue.
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Miguel Castro
•I wasted SO MUCH TIME trying to get someone at the IRS on the phone about this exact problem last semester. 3+ hour wait times and then kept getting disconnected. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They have this system where they call the IRS and navigate all the phone menus, then call you when they have an agent on the line. Saved me a huge headache. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The IRS agent was able to confirm my tax filing status immediately even though the online system couldn't find my transcript. Got my verification issues resolved that same day.
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Zainab Ibrahim
Everyone keeps saying check the year but nobody's mentioning the other common problem - did you use EXACTLY the same info on your tax return as what you're entering on the IRS transcript site? Like if your address on your 2022 taxes was "123 Main St" but you enter "123 Main Street" on the transcript request it'll say no record found. Or if your name has a hyphen or suffix. The system is SUPER picky about matching EXACTLY what's on your tax form.
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Dylan Evans
•omg this is so true!! i kept getting the "no record found" message and turns out i was using my current address instead of the address i had when i filed. system is broken fr
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Fatima Al-Mansour
Update: You all were right! I was looking for 2023 tax info when I should have been requesting my 2022 transcript for the 2024-2025 FAFSA. I just successfully got my transcript online! I also talked to my financial aid office and they're giving me a 1-week extension on the verification documents. THANK YOU all for your help!
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Sofia Gomez
•Great to hear! For future reference, remember that FAFSA always uses the tax information from two years before the academic year. So for any academic year that spans 20XX-20XY, you'll need tax information from 20(XX-2). This pattern continues with the new simplified FAFSA.
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Dmitry Petrov
This whole system is DESIGNED to make students miss deadlines and lose aid. My sister lost her entire grant package last year because of verification delays. The financial aid system claims to help low-income students but then creates impossible bureaucratic hurdles. Did you know colleges actually MAKE MONEY when students don't complete verification? They get to keep the federal aid money that would have gone to students. The whole thing is corrupt.
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Ava Williams
•While verification can certainly be frustrating, colleges don't actually profit from students not completing verification. Unclaimed federal aid returns to the Department of Education, not to the schools. The verification process exists to ensure program integrity, though I agree the implementation can create unnecessary barriers for students. The good news is that the simplified FAFSA rolling out fully for 2025-2026 should significantly reduce verification requirements for many students.
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