You may have been notified that you need to obtain a tax return transcript and/or a verification of non-filing letter from the IRS. The Department of Education has changed the 2017-2018  requirements for students selected for federal verification and those documents are no longer required.

  • We can now accept a signed photocopy of the federal 1040 that was submitted to the IRS instead of the tax return transcript. If you are applying for financial aid for the 2017-2018 academic year, submit the 2015 federal 1040.
    • Acceptable federal tax return forms:
      • Federal (U.S.) 1040EZ--submit the single page
      • Federal (U.S.) 1040A--submit the first and second pages
      • Federal (U.S.) 1040--submit the first and second pages
      • Foreign Tax Return--submit all pages
    • Copies of tax returns (including e-filed returns) must be signed.  If you are submitting a copy of your electronic return and it does not contain a signature block, sign and date the bottom of the form.
    • Do not submit state tax returns.
    • Do not send the Electronic Summary Page by itself; send the equivalent of the acceptable forms specified above.
  • If the parent/student is a non-tax filer and did work, they will need to submit a copy of their W-2 form to our office.

If you filed an amended tax return, submit to our office the following two documents that were submitted to the IRS:

  1. a signed and dated copy of the original Federal 1040
  2. a signed and dated copy of IRS Form 1040X

You can receive an estimated financial aid award notification without submitting the required information; however, your financial aid award will not be finalized and funds will not disburse until we complete the verification review.

You must have your verification review completed at least 30 days prior to the end of the session or academic year/period during which you are enrolled. This allows sufficient time for the Office of Student Financial Aid to process and disburse the financial aid within the timeframe permitted under Title IV regulations and University policy. The deadline for you to submit verification documentation may be extended up to your last day of enrollment during the academic year/period on a case-by-case basis and is processed to the extent that is administratively possible.

Obtaining a Tax Return Transcript

If you do not have a copy of your federal tax return, you can obtain a Tax Return Transcript (not a Tax Account Transcript) from the IRS.

  • If you are applying for financial aid for the 2017-2018 academic years, obtain a 2015 Tax Return Transcript.
  • There are several ways to obtain the Tax Return Transcript
    • The IRS website:
      • Click on the Get Transcript ONLINE button to immediately view, print, or download your tax return transcript.
      • Click on the Get Transcript by MAIL button to request that the IRS mail your tax return transcript to you.  It will take five to ten days for you to receive the tax return transcript from the IRS.
    • The IRS automated phone transcript service at 1-800-908-9946
  • If you have problems obtaining your tax return transcript from the IRS website, view their Tax Transcript Frequently Asked Questions web page for additional instructions or call the IRS at 800-829-1040.
  • After you receive the tax return transcript, write the student's name and UI ID number in the top right corner and submit it to the Office of Student Financial Aid as soon as possible.