Each year, the FAFSA Processing System (FPS) of the US Department of Education selects a number of FAFSAs for “verification.” If your FAFSA is selected for verification, the Financial Aid Office will need to collect additional documentation from you and verify some information that you provided on the FAFSA; for example, income information, number of people in the household, or citizenship status, to name a few. The information on this page will give you an idea of what to expect if your FAFSA is selected for verification.
Notifications to the student
A student whose FAFSA information is selected for verification will be notified of his/her selected status as follows:
The FPS will notify the student on his/her FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS). Next to the Student Aid Index (SAI) will be an asterisk (*) referring to a comment in the student section of the FSS that tells the applicant that he/she will be asked by the Institute to provide documentation for verification; and
CalArts’ Financial Aid Office will send email notifications on a biweekly basis to a student selected for verification. Notifications to the student will begin as soon as a FAFSA selected for verification is received by the Financial Aid Office. Notifications will continue until either the student has submitted all documents required for verification or the deadline for submission has been reached.
CalArts email notifications sent to a student whose FAFSA information is selected for verification will include a link to Self-Service to view any required documentation under the Financial Aid menu and this webpage for information about the student’s responsibilities with respect to the verification process, deadlines, and the consequences of failing to complete any required action.
How to complete federal verification
The items that you are required to verify will be posted as missing requirements on your checklist on your financial aid Self-Service account. Most students selected for verification will be required to submit student and parent federal tax information.
For 2024-25, if selected for verification, and taxes required, student and parent 2022 federal tax data is required.
How to submit federal tax data
If a student is selected for federal or institutional verification, or in the support of an appeal, CalArts Financial Aid may request student or parent federal tax returns.
We advise using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to transfer tax data when completing the FAFSA. If you are unable to complete the IRS Data Retrieval, you must submit an IRS Tax Transcript if the student is selected for federal or institutional verification.
Detailed information on submitting tax data can be found below, including:
Using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool
How to obtain an IRS Tax transcript
How to submit tax data when you are not required to file a federal tax return
How to complete request if you have filed an extension
Been a victim of tax fraud
Filed an amended tax return
For tax filers
IRS data retrieval
The best way to submit student and/or parent federal tax data is by using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT), which is part of FAFSA, on studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa. In most cases, no further documentation is needed to verify 2021 IRS income tax return information that was transferred into the student’s FAFSA using the IRS DRT, if that information was not changed. Click IRS Data Retrieval Process for more information on the process.
IRS Tax Transcript
If the student or parent is unable or chooses not to use the IRS DRT in FAFSA online, 2021 IRS Tax Return Transcript(s) must be provided to CalArts Financial Aid (signature not required). Click IRS Tax Transcript for more information on the process.
The IRS has stopped all faxing of tax transcripts, both individual and business. Private citizens, and third parties including tax professionals, will no longer be able to receive tax transcripts through the fax service. Individuals requesting their tax transcripts are recommended to use the IRS.gov “Get Transcript Online” or “Get Transcript by Mail” services.
Amended tax returns
An individual who filed an amended IRS income tax return for 2021 must provide a signed copy of the 2021 IRS form 1040X, “Amended US Individual Income tax Return,” that was filed with the IRS or documentation from the IRS that includes the change(s) made by the IRS, in addition to one of the following:
IRS DRT information on an ISIR record with all tax information from the original tax return; or
A 2021 IRS Tax Return Transcript (that will only include information from the original tax return and does not have to be signed), or any other IRS tax transcript that includes all of the income and tax information required to be verified.
For non-tax filers
IRS Verification of Non-Filing Letter
Parents of dependent students or independent students and spouse, who are non-filing, must submit an IRS Verification of Non-Filing Letter (VNF), IRS form 13873. This document must be dated on or after Oct. 15, 2022. If you have not received the VNF letter within 10 days after mailing the 4506-T form to request the VNF letter, it is acceptable to submit a signed statement indicating the date that the VNF request was made and that you have not received a response after 10 days.
Dependent students who did not file are only required to complete the CalArts non-filing statement.
Once tax data has been received and reviewed, the student’s data Self-Service checklist requirement will be updated to “complete.”
If additional forms are needed from you, you will receive an email directing you to sign into your Self-Service account to view a list of required documents. You can sign into your financial aid portal to view your checklist via Self-Service.
Submit your information to the Financial Aid Office by:
Online:
Submit documents securely only by using the Missing Documents Upload Form (do not email directly to the Financial Aid Office).
Mail (USPS or Express): California Institute of the Arts Financial Aid Office 24700 McBean Parkway Valencia, CA 91355
In person:
Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm (closed Fridays in the summer).
If you have questions about this process, please contact us via email at finaid@calarts.edu.
Please allow a minimum of three business days for a form to show as received in Self-Service.
We are also required to report your revised information as a correction to your FAFSA; therefore, it is important that you do not make further corrections or changes to your FAFSA while verification is pending, and once verification has been completed.
Deadlines and failure to submit documentation
Any student who is selected for verification either by the federal government or the Institute is required to submit all requested documentation before any federal aid (grants, loans, and work study) can be disbursed. Although it is recommended to complete verification as soon as possible once selected, students have until two weeks prior to the end of the academic term or year in which they are enrolled to submit the required documents, providing enough time for the Office of Financial Aid to complete the verification process and for aid to disburse. Any student who fails to complete verification will not be eligible for any federal aid disbursements during the academic year.
Correcting errors on FAFSA information
Upon receipt of the FFS, the student should review all information listed on the FFS and submit for processing any errors reported on the original FAFSA to the FPS.
In order to avoid registration holds or delays, verifications documents should be submitted no later than one week prior to the registration deadline. To avoid the cancellation of the student’s financial aid award, the final deadline for submitting verification documents is Nov. 1.
An electronic summary of a student’s original FAFSA and any corrected FAFSA information will be sent from the FPS to the Institute. Once received, all FAFSA data, Verification Worksheets, and any supplemental verification documents will then be reviewed by the Financial Aid Office to verify the accuracy of the student’s FAFSA information and to calculate their eligibility for need-based financial aid.
If a student’s FAFSA information changes as a result of the verification process, the Financial Aid Office staff will:
a) Submit for processing changes to the FAFSA information determined to be in error*;
b) Recalculate the student’s Federal Pell Grant on the basis of the recalculated SAI;
d) Notify the student via CalArts email of any change to his/her financial aid package.
c) Adjust the student’s financial aid package on the basis of the recalculated SAI; and
*Note: Although the Financial Aid Office will be able to submit most changes to FAFSA information, on occasion it may be necessary for the student to submit changes directly to the FPS. In such cases, the Financial Aid Office will notify the student via CalArts email as to which data items must be corrected by the student and submitted for processing to the FPS.
Referral of fraud cases
Students and parents are advised that the Institute must and will refer to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) any credible information indicating that an applicant for Federal Student Aid may have engaged in fraud or other criminal misconduct in connection with FAFSA applications. Common misconduct includes false claims of independent status, false claims of citizenship, use of false identities, forgery of signatures of certifications, and false statements of income. Note that fraud is the intent to deceive as opposed to a mistake on an application.
