FAFSA showing my son didn't file 2022 taxes when IRS confirms he did - stuck in loop between college and FAFSA

This exact thing happened to my daughter! The issue is that the IRS Data Retrieval Tool sometimes doesn't properly transfer tax filing status information even though it pulls the income data correctly. What worked for us was requesting a Tax Return Transcript directly from the IRS website and uploading it to the college's financial aid portal. Don't waste more time calling FAFSA - they're just going to keep bouncing you back and forth. The financial aid office needs to see proof from the IRS, and then they can manually override the error in their system.

lol welcome to the nightmare that is fafsa. they told me to call the school and the school told me to call them for LITERALLY EVERYTHING. its like nobody wants to take responsibility for anything!!!

This is a common issue with the 2024-2025 FAFSA particularly because of the FAFSA Simplification Act changes. The new system sometimes fails to properly import tax filing status even when other tax data transfers correctly. You need to: 1. Request a "Verification of Non-Filing Letter" from the IRS website (even though he DID file, this document will show the discrepancy) 2. Get a Tax Return Transcript for 2022 from the IRS 3. Submit both documents directly to the school's financial aid office with a written explanation 4. Request a manual SAI recalculation based on the documentation The college has the authority to make this correction during verification. Don't waste more time with the FSA helpline on this particular issue.

After spending HOURS on hold trying to reach someone at the Federal Student Aid helpline for a similar issue, I found a service called Claimyr that got me connected to an actual FAFSA agent in about 10 minutes instead of the usual 2+ hour wait. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. Basically they hold your place in line and call you when an agent is ready. I explained my tax filing status issue to the agent, and she was able to submit an internal correction request that fixed it within 3 days. Much better than being stuck in the college/FAFSA blame game! Check out claimyr.com if you're still struggling.

OMG THIS HAPPENED TO US TOO!!! The FAFSA system is BROKEN this year!! My daughter's application showed she didn't file taxes when she 100% DID and we went through SEVEN CALLS with different people before finding someone who knew what was happening. Turns out there's a GLITCH in the new FAFSA system that's causing this exact problem for thousands of students!!!! The financial aid office at her college finally had to do an override called a "professional judgment" correction after we sent them her actual tax transcript from IRS.gov... Do NOT waste time calling FAFSA again - they can't fix it on their end!!!!

what about asking ur son to call since its his fafsa? sometimes they don't want to talk to parents

Just adding a quick update since I saw this thread is still active - make sure when you get the Tax Return Transcript that it's the FULL transcript, not just the tax account transcript. They're different documents, and some schools specifically need the full return transcript to verify filing status. You can get it for free at IRS.gov/transcripts.

Is anyone else stressing about all these fafsa problems affecting fall financial aid packages? My sons college said they're backed up like 6 weeks on processing because of all the system issues!!

One additional solution that's worked for many families with this specific tax filing status discrepancy: Ask the financial aid office if they can initiate what's called a "Comment Code 400" resolution. This is a specific code that tells the FAFSA system there's a mismatch between reported tax filing status and IRS records. Many schools can process this correction internally without requiring you to keep calling the Federal Student Aid helpline. The most important thing is submitting that 2022 Tax Return Transcript directly to the school as soon as possible, as that's the documentation they'll ultimately need regardless of which approach they take to fix the issue.

I work in a university financial aid office (not giving specifics for privacy). This is a common issue this year with the new FAFSA. The financial aid office CAN fix this through the verification process, despite what they might be telling you. Ask specifically to speak with a verification specialist, not just a front-desk person. They need to submit a correction through their institution's correction process, not through the standard FAFSA correction method. Bring a copy of the 2022 tax return transcript, and they should be able to resolve it.