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Department requests financial aid administrators watch for FAFSA filers with $1 AGI
September 30, 2021
Although the 2022-23 FAFSA won't be released until tomorrow, the Department of Education has already identified a potential issue that could indicate some students are eligible for more aid than they should receive.
In a September 30 Electronic Announcement, the Department said they have identified an issue that will impact a specific group of 2022-23 FAFSA filers. FAFSA filers, who had earlier used the Non-Filer Portal to request the Child Tax Credit payments, but then subsequently filed a tax return and use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to import their information into the FAFSA will unknowingly report an incorrect Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $1.
This may result in a lower EFC and a higher Pell Grant award for students who would not otherwise be eligible.
As a result of this issue, the Department encourages financial aid professionals to identify all instances of $1 AGIs, for the 2022-23 FAFSA cycle, and follow-up with applicants to resolve as appropriate. According to the Department, schools should instruct the student and/or parent to obtain a Record of Account from the IRS to verify if the $1 value is correct and adjust the student's financial aid package as needed.