FAFSA stuck in limbo - husband verification complete but system won't link IRS data

This EXACT same thing happened to me last month! The system is completely broken this year with the FAFSA redesign. What worked for me was having my spouse create a brand new FSA ID, then manually logging in (not through the FAFSA portal) to studentaid.gov directly, then going to the application through that route and explicitly re-authorizing the IRS data retrieval tool. For some reason, the permissions don't stick when you do it through the regular FAFSA application flow.

OMG the new FAFSA is THE WORST. been stuck in circles for 3 weeks trying to get my daughter's app finished. good luck!!

I've been troubleshooting FAFSA issues for my college students all semester, and this particular problem is unfortunately common with the new system. The issue is that the FAFSA database isn't properly registering the IRS authorization even though it was completed. Here's what you need to do: 1. Both you and your husband should log out completely 2. Clear your browser cache and cookies 3. Have your husband log in separately using HIS FSA ID 4. Navigate to "My Documents" section 5. There should be a notification about "incomplete authorization" 6. Complete the IRS authorization again from there 7. Wait 48 hours (important!) before checking status The system needs time to process the authorization properly. If it still doesn't work after that, you'll need to contact Federal Student Aid directly for manual resolution.

I work at our university's financial aid office, and I can tell you this is one of the most common issues we're seeing with the redesigned FAFSA. Sometimes the problem happens because the parent and student portions get desynchronized in the database. One thing to check: make sure your husband's email and phone are EXACTLY the same in both his FSA ID account profile and in your son's FAFSA parent information section. Even a tiny difference can cause the system to fail at matching records properly. If the suggestions above don't work, you may need to call the Federal Student Aid Information Center directly. Unfortunately, their hold times are extremely long right now (2+ hours), but it's sometimes the only way to get these glitches resolved.

I tried calling Federal Student Aid for three days straight about a similar issue and kept getting disconnected after waiting for hours. Finally I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me through to an actual person in about 20 minutes. They have a video demo that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent was able to manually flag my husband's authorization as complete in their system. Apparently there's a known bug where the IRS data retrieval tool works correctly but the FAFSA system doesn't register the permission. The only real fix was having someone on their end override it.

did u try doing the application on a different browser? sometimes edge or firefox works better than chrome for govt websites. also make sure husband uses his OWN device to sign in with his FSA ID, not the same computer as u used. the system gets confused with cookies and stuff.

Just wanted to add another thing I've seen work: try completing the process during off-peak hours. The FAFSA servers get overwhelmed during evenings and weekends. Try logging in on a weekday morning (like 6-8am) when traffic is lower. The IRS data retrieval tool seems to function more reliably during those times, and the permissions sync correctly with the main FAFSA database.

UPDATE: We finally got it fixed! Combination of approaches worked for us: 1. Had my husband use his own phone (not our shared computer) 2. Logged in at 6:30am on a Tuesday (great tip about off-peak hours) 3. Went through the "My Documents" section as suggested 4. Re-authorized the IRS data transfer 5. Left everything completely alone for 3 days When we checked again, the status showed "Processing" and all sections were marked complete! Thanks everyone for your help. For anyone else stuck in this situation, patience and trying different devices seems to be key.

So glad to see this got resolved! This thread is going to be incredibly helpful for other families dealing with the same nightmare. I'm bookmarking it for future reference. The FAFSA redesign has been such a disaster this year - I've heard similar horror stories from so many parents in our community. Your persistence really paid off, and the combination approach you described gives hope to others stuck in the same loop. Thanks for taking the time to update with the solution that worked!