database matches

DATABASE MATCHES 3-1

3 DATABASE MATCHES

This chapter is excerpted from the: 2020-2021 Electronic Data Exchange (EDE) Technical

Reference, 2020-2021 ISIR Guide, and the 2020-2021 SAR Comment Codes and Text, and

other U.S. Department of Education bulletins such as the 2020-2021 Summary of Changes for

the Application Processing System.

The purpose of the chapter is to aggregate the information from the above publications into one

document so that FAAs can efficiently and easily access information about the 2020-2021 ISIR

delivery systems. However, the chapter is not intended to act as a replacement for reviewing the

original source publications, which should be consulted as appropriate.

Familiarity with the 2020-2021 ISIR Guide in its entirety is an essential prerequisite to

effectively using the material contained in the following pages. All the publications mentioned

above can be accessed at the U.S. Department of Education’s Information for Financial Aid

Professionals (IFAP) website: https://ifap.ed.gov/

The first part of the chapter outlines the major system changes for the new award year. You will

also find the SAR Reject Codes and SAR Reject Reasons with the instructions from the U.S.

Department of Education on how the applicant is to resolve the reject.

The remainder of the chapter consists of the following items:

SAR Comment Texts with C Flags

Assumption Overrides

https://ifap.ed.gov/ede-technical-reference/07-15-2019-2020-2021-ede-technical-reference-final

https://ifap.ed.gov/ede-technical-reference/07-15-2019-2020-2021-ede-technical-reference-final

https://ifap.ed.gov/isir-guide/08-08-2019-2020-2021-isir-guide

https://ifap.ed.gov/sar-comment-codes-and-text/07-31-2019-2020-2021-sar-comment-codes-and-text-guide

https://ifap.ed.gov/summary-changes-application-processing-system/2021SumChangesAppProcessSysGuide

https://ifap.ed.gov/summary-changes-application-processing-system/2021SumChangesAppProcessSysGuide

https://ifap.ed.gov/

SAM 2020-2021


CONTENTS

Need Analysis Income Threshold ................................................................................................ 3-3

DHS-SAVE Third-Step Verification Process .............................................................................. 3-3

FAFSA Data Elements ................................................................................................................. 3-3

Data Transferred from IRS DRT Masked .................................................................................... 3-3

IRS DRT Availability for Users Who Filed Amended Taxes ..................................................... 3-4

IRS Data Retrieval Tool............................................................................................................... 3-4

Identifying IRS Data Fields that Changed ................................................................................... 3-5

Clarified Taxable College Grant and Scholarship Aid Questions ............................................... 3-7

Definition and Age Range for Homeless Youth .......................................................................... 3-7

Homeless Youth Definitions ........................................................................................................ 3-7

Changes to FAFSA on the Web ................................................................................................... 3-8

SAR Comment Code Changes ..................................................................................................... 3-9

IRS Display Flags on SAR/ISIR ................................................................................................ 3-11

Printing ISIRs............................................................................................................................. 3-12

IRS Data Field Flags .................................................................................................................. 3-13

Verification Tracking Groups .................................................................................................... 3-14

Reporting of V4 and V5 Verification Tracking Group Results ................................................. 3-14

Table of Reject Codes and How to Respond to Each ................................................................ 3-16

Loan Status Codes...................................................................................................................... 3-22

Assumption Overrides ............................................................................................................... 3-25

SAM 2020-2021


Need Analysis Income Threshold Increase

The income threshold for an automatic zero EFC is $26,000 for the 2020-2021 Award Year.

DHS-SAVE Third-Step Verification Process

Third step verification is a process required to confirm Title IV eligibility for students who claim

to be eligible noncitizens, but fail the first and second DHS match steps .Schools must submit

third-step verification requests electronically via the SAVE system.

Access to SAVE accounts can be requested at CUNY by contacting OSFA.

Detailed instructions to submit third-step verification requests, and determine student’s eligibility

for Title IV aid are contained in the May 10, 2018 Electronic Announcement. A link has also

been established on the IFAP website with more SAVE instructions. If additional assistance is

needed, the user can contact the DHS-SAVE help desk at 877-469-2563 or via email at

[email protected]. Policy questions should be directed to Federal Student Aid’s Application

Processing Department via e-mail at [email protected]. or 202-377-3385.

For further details refer to the Eligibility Requirements chapter of this manual and the February

14, 2019 Electronic Announcement.

FAFSA Data Elements

Data Transferred from the IRS DRT Masked

In order to enhance the security and privacy of sensitive personal data transferred to the FAFSA

from the IRS, the information that displays to applicants and parents has been limited. Students

and parents will proceed through an authentication process on the IRS site. Once completed,

users will not be able to view their tax return information on the IRS DRT Web page. If they

agree to transfer their data back into the FAFSA, they will also not be able to view the

transferred income and tax information on the FAFSA Web pages. Instead of entry fields,

students and parents will see the words “Transferred from the IRS” in place of the transferred

information throughout the online FAFSA form. The affected outputs include the following:

eSAR

Application Summary Report

“List of Changes” page

Application Summary Report

“List of Changes” page

Fields transferred from the IRS into the FAFSA form that are blank or have assumed values will

also be masked.

Tax information imported from the IRS will still be visible to FAAs in the ISIR files sent to

schools and state agencies, as well as in FAA Access to CPS Online.

https://ifap.ed.gov/efc-formula-guide/2021efcformulaguideoct2019update

https://save.uscis.gov/web/vislogin.aspx?JS=YES

https://ifap.ed.gov/electronic-announcements/05-10-2018-application-processing-subject-dhs-save-instructions-us

https://ifap.ed.gov/dhs-save-eligible-noncitizen-dhs-save-electronic-third-step-verification

https://ifap.ed.gov/electronic-announcements/02-14-2019-resend-record-matches-functionality-available-faa-access-cps

https://ifap.ed.gov/electronic-announcements/02-14-2019-resend-record-matches-functionality-available-faa-access-cps

SAM 2020-2021


The masking of IRS data applies to the applicant’s or parent’s information, which is hidden from

view on both the IRS DRT website and on the FAFSA web pages. Since the transferred

information is not displayed, applicants and parents will be unable to make any corrections to the

IRS DRT transferred items on the FAFSA form before or after submission. Therefore,

corrections to these fields will need to be performed by a financial aid administrator.

The main exception to this involves the Income Earned from Work, Untaxed IRA, and Untaxed

Pension questions. Applicants who are single will still see the Schedule K-1 box (applicants who

are married will not), and fields were added for the Untaxed IRA and Pension questions in which

applicants can enter the rollover amount that should be subtracted from their total.

If an applicant or parent feels that a change to the masked data is required, they will need to

change it on their SAR—although they will not be able to see the data on the SAR—or consult

the FAA to make the change for them.

Some online FAFSA form edits that would have prompted students and parents to verify or

correct certain field values have been suppressed because they cannot view the values transferred

from the IRS. To help FAAs identify records that may have conflicting values, comment 400 for

the parents’ information and comment 401 for the student’s information will be applied to the

record. See the August 7, 2017 Electronic Announcement, as well as the Verification Chapter of

this manual for additional guidance.

IRS Data Retrieval Tool Availability for Users Who Filed an

Amended Tax Return

The capacity of the IRS DRT was expanded to allow more applicants and parents to use it to

import income data into FAFSA on the Web applications. The questions related to students and

parents filing an amended tax return that previously would have prevented such users from

accessing the IRS DRT have been removed. At the same time, the IRS will provide confirmation

that a user has filed an amended tax return, and that information will be reported to FAAs and

state grant agencies on the ISIR. When a user who has filed an amended tax return transfers tax

information into the FAFSA, the tax information transferred from the IRS will be the original tax

return information. See the August 7, 2017 Electronic Announcement as well as the 2020-2021

Application Verification Guide describing FAA’s responsibilities when this situation occurs.

IRS Data Retrieval Tool

IRS Request Flags on SAR/ISIR

The field labels on the ISIR printed from EDExpress are shortened from “Student IRS Req Flag”

and “Parent IRS Req Flag” to “Req Flag.

IRS Request Flags for the student and parents display on the ISIR/SAR to help identify if an

applicant was eligible to use the IRS DRT option, if the data was retrieved from the IRS, and if

the data from the IRS was modified. The IRS Request Flag is different from the IRS Display

Flag (see below for more information on IRS Display Flags).

https://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/080717ChangestoIRSDRT1819FAFSAForm.html

https://ifap.ed.gov/electronic-announcements/08-07-2017-application-processing-subject-changes-irs-data-retrieval-tool

https://ifap.ed.gov/electronic-announcements/052220ApplicationandVerificationGuide2021

https://ifap.ed.gov/electronic-announcements/052220ApplicationandVerificationGuide2021

SAM 2020-2021


ISIR Value and Value

Printed on ISIR Description

Blank IRS DRT not available in the application method used by the student (for example, paper FAFSA, EDE, or FAA Access)

00 Not eligible to use the IRS DRT and was therefore not presented with the option to use it in FAFSA on the Web

01 Presented with the option to use the IRS DRT in FAFSA on the Web and elected to use it, but did not transfer IRS data into the FAFSA

02 IRS data was transferred from the IRS and was not changed by the user prior to submission of an application or correction

03 IRS data was transferred from the IRS and changed by the user prior to submission of an application or correction

04 IRS data was transferred from the IRS and then changed by the user on a subsequent transaction

05 Presented with the option to use the IRS DRT in FAFSA on the Web, but did not elect to use it

06 IRS data was transferred from the IRS, but a subsequent change made the student or parent ineligible to use the IRS DRT

07 IRS data was transferred from IRS, but the IRS indicated that an amended tax return was filed

Identifying IRS Data Fields that Changed

The IRS data field flags indicate if the IRS DRT was used, if the data in the field was retrieved

from the IRS Web site, and whether it was later changed. Fields for both the student and parent

questions are printed on the ISIR.

New for 2020-2021: The IRS IRA Distributions Data Field Flag and IRS Untaxed Pensions Data

Field Flag were combined into one field, IRS Untaxed Portions of IRA Distributions and

Pensions Data Field Flag. The IRS Exemptions Data Field Flag was deleted.

ISIR Label ISIR Record Layout Field Name

SAM 2020-2021


IRA Deductions IRS IRA Payments Data Field Flag

Tax-Exempt Int. Income IRS Interest Income Data Field Flag

Untaxed IRA Distributions &

Pension Portions

IRS Untaxed Portions of IRA Distributions and Pensions

Data Field Flag

AGI IRS Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Data Field Flag

Taxes Paid IRS Federal Income Tax (FIT) Data Field Flag

Tax Return Type IRS Type of Tax Return Data Field Flag

Return Filing Status IRS Tax Return Filing Status Data Field Flag

Education Credits IRS Education Credits Data Field Flag

The valid content for all the student and parent IRS Data Field Flags listed above follows.

ISIR Value and Value

Printed on ISIR Description

0 IRS data not transferred (default value)

1 IRS data was transferred and not changed by user

2 IRS data was transferred and changed by user to a different value

3 IRS Request flag is equal to 02, 03, 04, or 07, and field has been

corrected on this transaction

4 IRS Request flag is equal to 02, 03, 04, or 07, and field has been

corrected on a previous transaction

Blank IRS Data Retrieval Tool was not used

The FAA Access data field flag values are:

0= IRS data not transferred (default value)

1= IRS data was transferred and not changed by user

SAM 2020-2021


2 = IRS data was transferred and changed by user to a different value

3= IRS Request flag is equal to 02, 03, 04, or 07, and field has been corrected on this

transaction

4= IRS Request flag is equal to 02, 03, 04, or 07, and field has been corrected on a previous

transaction

Blank = IRS DRT not used

Clarified Taxable College Grant and Scholarship Aid Questions

To address confusion surrounding the questions assessing taxable college grant and scholarship

aid, the questions for both students and parents were reworded on the FAFSA.

Question 43 d reads, “Taxable college grant and scholarship aid reported to the IRS

as income. Includes AmeriCorps benefits (awards, living allowances and interest

accrual payments), as well as grant and scholarship portions of fellowships and

assistantships.”

Question 91 d reads, “Your parents’ taxable college grant and scholarship aid

reported to the IRS as income. Includes AmeriCorps benefits (awards, living

allowances and interest accrual payments), as well as grant and scholarship portions

of fellowships and assistantships”

Definition and Age Range for Homeless Youth

Any student who is not yet 24 may qualify for a homeless youth determination. The

FAFSA and system edits allow applicants under the age of 24 who answer in the affirmative to

any of FAFSA questions 55-57 to complete the application as independent students, eliminating

the need for FAAs to perform a dependency override.

Homeless Youth Definitions

At risk of being homeless—when a student’s housing may cease to be fixed, regular, and

adequate, for example, a student who is being evicted and has been unable to find fixed, regular,

and adequate housing

Homeless—lacking fixed, regular, and adequate housing

Self-supporting—when a student pays for his own living expenses, including fixed, regular, and

adequate housing

Unaccompanied—when a student is not living in the physical custody of a parent or guardian

Housing Fixed—stationary, permanent, and not subject to change

Regular—used on a predictable, routine, or consistent basis

Adequate—sufficient for meeting both the physical and psychological needs typically met in the

home

SAM 2020-2021


Changes to FAFSA on the Web

The changes for 2020-2021 include:

Masking the Social Security numbers (SSNs) of users on the login page

FAFSA updates due to IRS tax form changes

Other updates to FAFSA questions

Syncing FAFSA on the Web with myStudentAid Mobile App

Masking the SSN of Users on the Login Page

When a user enters his or her SSN to log in to FAFSA on the Web, the numbers will be masked

from view to protect the privacy and security of the user. Masking the SSN is the default setting,

but users can opt to show or hide the values they enter.

FAFSA Updates Due to IRS Tax Form Changes

Because of IRS tax form changes, several questions that appear in FAFSA on the Web have been

revised. The revisions are listed below.

The responses for the student (and spouse) question about type of income tax return filed

have been updated:

“IRS 1040A or 1040 EZ” have been removed as a response.

The foreign tax return response to include IRS 1040NR and IRS 1040NR-EZ has been

updated.

The questions regarding whether the student and parents filed a Schedule 1 has been

revised to read, “Did [or will] you [or your parents] file a Schedule 1? Select No if you [or

your parents] did not [or will not] file a Schedule 1 or only filed [or will file] it to report an

Alaska Permanent Fund dividend. View other exceptions.” Responses are:

Yes

No

Don’t know

A student or parent is expected to answer “No” if they did not file a Schedule 1 or only filed it to

report one or more of the following six additions or adjustments to income (referred to as the other

exceptions in the question text above):

Capital gain (line 13 – may not be less than zero)

Unemployment compensation (line 19)

Other income to report an Alaska Permanent Fund dividend (line 21 – may not be less than

zero)

Educator expenses (line 23)

IRA deduction (line 32)

Student loan interest deduction (line 33)

A student or parent is expected to answer “Yes” if they filed or will file a Schedule 1 and reported

additional income or adjustments to income on any lines other than or in addition to the six

exceptions listed above.

The student and spouse exemptions question was deleted.

The two questions asking about the student’s untaxed portions of IRA distributions and

pensions were combined into one.

The responses for the parent question about type of income tax return filed were updated:

SAM 2020-2021


“IRS 1040A or 1040 EZ” was removed as a response.

The foreign tax return response to include IRS 1040NR and IRS 1040NR-EZ has been

updated.

The parent exemptions question was deleted.

The two questions asking about the parents’ untaxed portions of IRA distributions and

pensions were combined into one.

IRS Data Retrieval Tool Changes

The type of tax return filed will now be used as a criterion to determine whether the IRS Data

Retrieval Tool (DRT) option will display. When a student or parent selects their type of tax return

as “Foreign tax return, IRS 1040NR, or IRS 1040NR-EZ” or “A tax return with Puerto Rico, a

U.S. territory, or Freely Associated State,” the IRS DRT option will not display to them, thus

eliminating the need to ask the “Foreign or Puerto Rican” filtering question.

Other Updates to FAFSA Questions

In addition to the FAFSA questions that were revised due to the 2018 IRS tax form changes, two

other questions were updated:

Question 29 – The responses were revised to add “college” and examples of the types of

degrees.

Question 30 – The question was revised to add “college,” and one of the responses was

revised to include “college” and examples of the types of degrees.

Syncing FAFSA on the Web with the myStudentAid Mobile App

Previously, if users began filling out the FAFSA online and switched to the myStudentAid app (or

vice versa), they would be taken to either the beginning of the application or the end. The syncing

function between FAFSA on the Web and the myStudentAid app has been updated to ensure that

users can continue their applications where they left off, regardless of the platform on which they

choose to continue. Improving the syncing function required changing the order of some of the

questions in FAFSA on the Web to align with the order found in the myStudentAid mobile app.

SAR Comment Code Changes

When reviewing comments on a paper SAR please note that comments with the first line

indented are printed in the “Comments About Your Information” section on the SAR. Comments

that are left-justified are printed with a checkbox in front of the comment and are printed in the

“What You Must Do Now” section.

Reminder: The text for comment codes 047, 050, 112, 149, 158, 159, 170, and 171 is not

printed in the paper SAR comments section on page 3; instead, the information contained in

these comments is printed as variable text in the appropriate section on the first page. Text

associated with these comment codes is displayed only on the Web; the text is not displayed in

the EDExpress software and is not printed on the EDExpress ISIR. Note, however, that the

comment code numbers are included in the ISIR file and appear in the FAA Information section

of the printed ISIR. Schools using EDExpress still have the ability to query their databases using

these comment code numbers.

SAM 2020-2021


When viewing or printing an ISIR using FAA Access to CPS Online, or when a student is

viewing or printing his or her SAR information on the Web, the text for the affected comments is

printed. ISIRs printed from third-party software may not print the text for these comments,

depending on how the software was programmed.

Note for users of the SAR Comment Codes and Text guide: If the comment text is

preceded with text referring to the Web, the comment text is printed on the ISIR from FAA

Access to CPS Online and is displayed to the student on the Web. In some cases, the text that

was removed from the EDExpress software is the same as the Web text, and we note it where

appropriate. In other cases, the text varies slightly from the Web version. We have also provided

the SAR/ISIR text that was removed from EDExpress. Schools using their own software and

third-party software providers may, at their discretion, program their systems to include the text

on printed ISIRs.

SAR C Code Changes

The SAR C code is set on a student’s record based on his or her eligibility conditions. The

following is a complete list of 2020-2021 comments that are associated with the SAR C code:

10, 20, 30, 33, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 46, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 77, 79, 86, 90, 100,

101, 102, 105, 107, 109, 115, 116, 124, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 138, 141, 142, 144, 146, 162,

173, 180, 254, 255, 256, 260, 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 346,

347, 359, 360, 392, and 393.

Comments that generate the C Flag are arranged by the areas that the comments are associated

with:

Selective Service Match: 30, 33, and 57

DHS Match: 46, 105, 109, 141, 142, and 144

Social Security Administration Citizenship Status: 146

Student’s Social Security Number Match: 63 and 64

Veterans Affairs Status Match: 162, 173, and 180

Responses to Question 23/Drug Conviction: 53, 54, 56, and 58

NSLDS: 10, 20, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 65, 66, 67, 77, 79, 86, 90, 100, 101, 102, 107, 115,

116, 124, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 138, 254 to 256, 260, 289 to 294, 309 to 314, 346,

347, 359, 360, 392, and 393

Potential Pell Overpayment: 20, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 346, and 347

Potential FSEOG Overpayment: 10, 65, 66, 67, 77, and 79

Potential Perkins Overpayment: 86, 90, 100, 101, 102, and 107

Potential TEACH Grant Overpayment: 289, 290, 291, 292, 293, and 294

Potential Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant Overpayment: 309, 310, 311, 312, 313,

and 314

Unusual Enrollment History: 359 (UEH 2) and 360 (UEH 3)

Note: In rare cases, the C Flag is provided on an ISIR/SAR without a corresponding comment.

This happens only if the applicant receives an excessive number of comments (including C Flag

comments) and some of the comments must be suppressed so that a SAR/ISIR can be generated.

SAM 2020-2021


IRS Display Flags on SAR/ISIR

This flag informs the school whether the student or parent was presented with the IRS Data

Retrieval Tool, and, if not, the reason it was not displayed. The IRS display flag is different from

the IRS request flag, which describes what happens after the student or parent is presented with

the IRS DRT.

New for 2020-2021: We updated the year reference in D.

Values for the IRS Display Flags for Student and Parent are as follows:

ISIR Value and

Value Printed on

ISIR Student

Parent

A Skipped the income and asset questions –IRS DRT was not displayed

Dependent student has special circumstances, or independent student skipped the parent questions –IRS DRT was not displayed

B IRS DRT was displayed to student IRS DRT was displayed to parent

C Tax return filing status not equal to “Already completed” –IRS DRT was not displayed

Tax return filing status not equal to “Already completed” –IRS DRT was not displayed

D Marital status date greater than or equal to January 2019–IRS DRT was not displayed

Marital status date greater than or equal to January 2019–IRS DRT was not displayed

E First three digits of SSN are 666 –IRS DRT was not displayed

First three digits of SSN are 666 –IRS DRT was not displayed

F N/A Non-married parent or both married parents entered all zeroes in SSN –IRS DRT was not displayed

G N/A Neither married parent entered a valid SSN –IRS DRT was not displayed

J Filed a Puerto Rican or foreign tax return –IRS DRT was not displayed

Parent filed a Puerto Rican or foreign tax return –IRS DRT was not displayed

K Married and tax return filing status is “Married–Filed Separate Return”–IRS DRT was not displayed

Parents are married, and tax return filing status is “Married–Filed Separate Return”–IRS DRT was not displayed

L Married and tax return filing status is “Head of Household”–IRS DRT was not displayed

Parents are married, and tax return filing status is “Head of Household”–IRS DRT was not displayed

SAM 2020-2021


M Conflict between the marital status and tax return filing status –IRS DRT was not displayed

Conflict between the parents’ marital status and tax return filing status –IRS DRT was not displayed

N N/A Parents’ marital status is “Unmarried and both parents living together” –IRS DRT was not displayed

Blank IRS DRT not available (for example, paper, EDE, or FAA Access)

IRS DRT not available (for example, paper, EDE, or FAA Access)

Printing ISIRs

For a complete list of changes to the ISIR that are printed from EDExpress, see the 2020-2021

ISIR Guide on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site located at

ifap.ed.gov.

New for 2020-2021: Some changes were made to the EDExpress ISIR field labels and field

placement on pages 2 and 3. These changes were the result of changes to the FAFSA fields and

data included in the ISIR record.

Renamed the following fields on the ISIR:

The “Eligible to file 1040A or 1040EZ?” field was renamed to “Student filed Schedule

1?”

The “Parents’ Eligible to file 1040A /1040EZ?” field was renamed to “Parents filed

Schedule 1?”

Deleted the following fields from the ISIR:

Under the “Step Two (Student & Spouse)” section, the “Exemptions Claimed” field was

deleted.

Under the “Step Four (Parents)” section, the “Exemptions Claimed” field was deleted.

Under the “IRS Data Flags” section, the “Exemptions” flag was deleted.

Combined the following fields into one field on the ISIR:

Under the “Student/Spouse Untaxed Income” section, the “Untaxed IRA Distributions”

and “Untaxed Portions of Pensions” fields were combined into the “Untaxed IRA Distrib.

& Pensions” field.

Under the “Parents’ Untaxed Income” section, the “Untaxed IRA Distributions” and

“Untaxed Portions of pensions” fields were combined into the “Untaxed IRA Distrib. &

Pensions” field.

Under the “IRS Data Flags” section, the “Untaxed IRA Distribs” and “Untaxed Pension

Portions” flags were combined into one flag filed taking up two lines, the “Untaxed IRA

Distributions & Pension Portions” flag.

Added the following field on the ISIR:

The CFH (Children of Fallen Heroes) Indicator was added above the “Duplicate SSN

Flag.”

SAM 2020-2021


IRS Data Field Flags The IRS Data Field Flags indicate if the IRS DRT was used, if the data in the field was retrieved

from the IRS Web site, and whether it was later changed. Fields for both the student and parent

questions print on the ISIR.

New for 2020-2021: The IRS IRA Distributions Data Field Flag and IRS Untaxed Pensions Data

Field Flag were combined into one field, IRS Untaxed Portions of IRA Distributions and

Pensions Data Field Flag. The IRS Exemptions Data Field Flag was deleted.

ISIR Label ISIR Record Layout Field Name

IRA Deductions IRS IRA Payments Data Field Flag

Tax-Exempt Int. Income IRS Interest Income Data Field Flag

Untaxed IRA Distributions &

Pension Portions

IRS Untaxed Portions of IRA Distributions and Pensions

Data Field Flag

AGI IRS Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Data Field Flag

Taxes Paid IRS Federal Income Tax (FIT) Data Field Flag

Tax Return Type IRS Type of Tax Return Data Field Flag

Return Filing Status IRS Tax Return Filing Status Data Field Flag

Education Credits IRS Education Credits Data Field Flag

The valid content for all the student and parent IRS Data Field Flags listed above follows.

ISIR Value Description

0 IRS data not transferred (default value)

1 IRS data was transferred and not changed by user

2 IRS data was transferred and changed by user to a

different value

3 IRS Request flag is equal to 02, 03, 04, or 07, and

field has been corrected on this transaction

4 IRS Request flag is equal to 02, 03, 04, or 07, and

field has been corrected on a previous transaction

Blank IRS Data Retrieval Tool was not used

SAM 2020-2021


Verification Tracking Groups

Records selected for verification in 2020-2021 will be identified in the usual way. The

Verification Flag will be set, there will be an asterisk next to the EFC on the SAR and a generic

verification text message will be generated as part of the SAR cover letter. In addition,

applicants selected for verification will be placed into one of three groups indicated by a separate

Verification Tracking Flag indicator. The FAFSA information that must be verified is based on

the assigned Verification Tracking Group.

The Verification Tracking Flag values in use for 2020-2021 and the corresponding Verification

Tracking Groups are:

V1 = Standard Verification Group (Record selected because conditions based on

statistical analysis error-prone risk model were met)

V4 = Custom Verification Group (Record selected for Identity/Statement of

Educational Purpose criteria only)

V5 = Aggregate Verification Group (Record selected for Identity criteria/Statement of

Educational Purpose and Standard Verification criteria)

Reporting of V4 and V5 Verification Tracking Group Results

There is an Identity Verification Results feature within FAA Access to CPS

Online which enables FAAs to provide the required verification results for students selected for

identity and high school completion status. The FAA reports this information to CPS Online

either in batch or by individual student(s):

Batch Process

Create a flat file with the data for up to 2,000 students. Each record must contain only:

The nine-digit SSN;

The two-character name ID, and;

The corresponding Verification Results Value (values listed in the following chart).

Each line of data must contain only one record. Under most circumstances, hyphens,

empty lines, or spaces should not be used, (unless the student does not have a last

name, in which case two spaces should be entered). This is an example of two records

reported via the flat file:

111223333BE1

222334444OL5

Select the Identity Verification Results option from the main menu,

Enter the school identifiers, the aid year, select the “Load Results File” button, and

choose the file to upload.

Individual Process

Select the Identity Verification Results option from the main menu,

Enter the school identifiers, the aid year, select the “Enter Results” button and provide the

student identifiers.

SAM 2020-2021


Select one of the following numeric codes that most applies:

Verification

Results Value Of

Report When Description

1 Verification of both identity and

high school completion status were

satisfactorily completed by the

applicant in person, and no issues

were found.

The applicant appeared in person, presented

acceptable government-issued photo

identification, signed the Statement of

Educational Purpose, and presented (not

necessarily in person) acceptable documentation

of the high school completion status.

2 Verification of both identity and

high school completion status were

satisfactorily completed remotely by

use of a notary, and no issues were

found.

The applicant submitted an original notarized

Statement of Educational Purpose, a copy of

his/her government-issued photo identification,

and acceptable documentation of high school

completion status.

3 Verification was attempted, and no

issues were found with high school

completion, but issues were found

with identity.

The applicant presented (not necessarily in

person) acceptable documentation of high school

completion status. No documentation of identity

was submitted or the identity documentation that

was presented was not acceptable and no signed

or notarized Statement of Educational Purpose

was received.

4 Verification was attempted, and no

issues were found with identity, but

issues were found with high school

completion status.

The applicant presented (either in person or with

an original notarized statement) a signed

Statement of Educational Purpose with acceptable

government-issued photo identification. Either no

documentation of high school completion status

was presented or the documentation that was

presented was not acceptable.

5 The applicant did not respond to the

request for documentation or the

applicant could not be located.

Verification of neither identity nor high school

completion status was completed and no signed

or notarized Statement of Educational Purpose

was received because the applicant did not

respond to the request for documentation or the

applicant could not be located.

6 Verification was attempted, and

issues were found with both high

school completion and identity.

No documentation of identity or high school

completion was submitted or the documentation

that was presented was not acceptable, and no

signed or notarized Statement of Educational

Purpose was received.

The FAA should report results no more than 60 days following the first request to the student for

documentation of identity and high school completion. Inaccurate and untimely reporting may

SAM 2020-2021


subject the school to findings as a result of their annual compliance audit or a program review.

The FAA should not wait until the award year ends before reporting these results. If there is a

change in a prior submission, the FAA can submit the new code using one of the above processes

and should make that change within 30 days. Because CPS Online does not store a list of these

verification results for the FAA to retrieve, it is recommended to print and keep the confirmation

page for record retention.

Table of Reject Codes and How to Respond to Each

Reject codes and reasons, and their associated SAR comment codes, are listed here. If a student

is rejected for more than one reason, the reject codes will appear in the FAA Information Box in

priority order. The resolution for a rejected SAR is always the responsibility of the student, not

the institution, and the SAR comment generated by the reject explains what action the student

must take.

Reject

Code

Reject Reason Action Comment

Code

*A Date of birth year equals 1900

through 1945

Confirm (re-enter the same value) or

correct the date of birth.

069

*B Independent student and date of

birth equals 09/01/2004 or

greater, and date of birth is not

equal to or greater than current year


correct the date of birth.

072

*C Taxes paid is greater than zero and greater than or equal to a fixed percentage of the AGI, but not equal to or greater than AGI. (Parent or Independent Student)


correct taxes paid and adjusted gross

income.

154, 155

D Student SSN match, but no name

match

Confirm (re-enter the same value) for

student first and last name.

061

E Parent 1 SSN match, but no name

match


parent 1 last name and first initial.

040, 377

F Parent 2 SSN match, but no name

match


parent 2 last name and first initial.

051, 379

*G Taxes Paid is greater than zero,

and greater than or equal to a

fixed percentage of the AGI, but

not equal to or greater than AGI

(Dependent Student)


correct taxes paid and adjusted gross

income.

153

SAM 2020-2021


*J Parent 1 SSN contains all zeroes

and reported as a tax filer


parent 1 SSN.

**083, 388

*K Parent 2 SSN contains all zeroes

and reported as a tax filer


parent 2 SSN.

**084, 389

*N Missing first or last name Correct the student last name or

first name or confirm (re-enter the

same value) a blank first or last name

field if the student actually has only

one name.

080

*These reject codes are the same as the Reject Override Codes.

**If both rejects J and K are on the ISIR, comment codes 083 and 084 are suppressed and

replaced with comment code 164, and comment codes 388 and 389 are suppressed and replaced

with comment 391.

Reject

Code


Code

R Student SSN match, but no date of

birth match


correct the student date of birth.

060

S Parent 1 SSN match, but no date of

birth match


correct parent 1 date of birth.

016, 373

T Parent 2 SSN match, but no date of

birth match


correct parent 2 date of birth.

017, 375

*W Unusually high number of family

members If the student is dependent, confirm (reenter the same value) or correct Parents Number of Family Members.

If the student is independent, confirm

(re-enter the same value) or correct

Student Number of Family Members.

178, 179

SAM 2020-2021


1 The simplified needs test is not met,

automatic zero EFC flag is not set,

asset threshold exceeded is

or blank on current transaction,

and any asset data is blank

For a dependent student, if the

Student’s Asset Threshold Exceed field

equals Yes or blank on the current

transaction, provide the following:

Student’s Cash, Savings and Checking,

Student’s Real Estate/ Investment Net

Worth, and Student’s Business/

Investment Farm Net Worth.

Also, if the Parents’ Asset Threshold

Exceed field equals Yes or blank on

current transaction, provide the

following: Parents’ Cash, Savings, and

Checking, Parents’ Real Estate/

Investment Net Worth, and

Parents’Business/Investment Farm

Net Worth.

For an independent student, if the

Student’s Asset Threshold Exceed field

equals Yes or blank on current

transaction, provide the following:

Student’s Cash, Savings and Checking,

Student’s Real Estate/ Investment Net

Worth, and Student’s

Business/Investment Farm Net

Worth.

150, 151


Reject

Code


Code

2 Incomplete FAFSA If the student is dependent, provide

parents taxed and untaxed income.

If the student is independent, provide

student and spouse (if married) taxed

and untaxed income.

129, 130

*3 Student taxes paid is greater than

zero and equal to or greater than AGI

Correct student taxes paid or AGI. 114, 152

SAM 2020-2021


4 Student marital status date on the

initial application is greater than the

date the application was signed

Or

Student marital status date on a

correction transaction is greater than

transaction receipt date

If the student marital status date is

after the date the application was

originally signed, correct the marital

status to single.

062

5 Missing or invalid date of birth Correct the student date of birth. 018

6 Parent 1 Social Security Number was

not matched with the Social Security

Administration

Correct the SSN for the parent 1. Also

review and correct the name and/or

date of birth for parent 2 and/or parent

1 to achieve a full match for at least

one parent.

011, 369

7 Parent 2 Social Security Number was not matched with the Social Security Administration

Correct the SSN for the parent 2.

Also review and correct the name

and/or date of birth for parent 2

and/or parent 1 to achieve a full

match for at least one parent.

012, 370

8 SSN match with Date of Death Contact the Social Security

Administration to fix the error at

SSA. Then re-enter name or date of

birth and submit as a correction for

an updated SSA Match.

076, 140,

145

9 Dependent student and one of SSN,

last name, or date of birth is

missing for both parents

Correct the SSN, name, and/or date of

birth for parent 2 and/or parent 1 to

achieve a full match for at least one

parent.

049, 387


Reject

Code


Code

10 Missing marital status and number

of family members

If the student is dependent, review

and correct Parents’ Marital Status

and Parents’ Number of Family

Members.

If the student is independent, review

and correct Student’s Marital Status

and Student’s Number of Family

Members.

168, 169

SAM 2020-2021


11 Marital status inconsistent with

reported incomes If the student is dependent, review

and correct at least one of the

following: either Parents’ Marital

Status, or parent 1 Income From Work

and parent 2 Income From Work.



following: either Student’s Marital

Status or Student’s Income Earned

From Work and Spouse’s Income

Earned From Work.

089, 099

*12 Parents taxes paid is greater than

zero and equal to or greater than

AGI

Correct parents taxes paid or AGI. 111

13 Missing name Provide the following:

Student last name and/or student

first name, or confirm a blank first or

last name field if the student actually

has only one name.

082

14 Missing student signature on paper

FAFSA or SAR Signature correction must be made on

a printed Student Aid Report

certification page and resubmitted to

the FAFSA Processor or can be

corrected electronically.

160

15 Missing parent signature on FAFSA

or SAR

Signature correction must be made on





108


Reject

Code


Code

16 Missing student signature on Web

application Signature correction must be made on





110, 285

SAM 2020-2021


17 Citizenship status left blank and

SSA did not confirm U.S. citizenship

status or applicant reported not a

U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen

Provide the citizenship status with the

alien registration number if

appropriate.

068

18 SSN not verified on Social Security

Administration database

Correct the Social Security Number. If

the SSN is already correct, contact the

Social Security Administration to fix

the error in their records. Then re-

enter SSN and submit as a correction

for an updated SSA Match.

024

19 An EFC cannot be calculated

because the Department of Justice

has placed a on the student

Student needs to call 202-377-3889 to

resolve comment 009.

009

*20 A non-tax filer is reporting an

income that is above the IRS filing

requirement

If the student is dependent, review

and correct the appropriate set of data

from the following:

Student’s tax return completed status

or student’s income

or

Parents’ tax return completed status

or income for the parent 1and parent

2.



following:

student’s tax return completed status

or income for the student and spouse.

126, 131

*21 Student corrected marital status

date is greater than or equal to the

application receipt date and less

than or equal to the transaction

receipt date

If the student marital status date is after the date the application was received, correct the marital status date and/or marital status.

119


Reject

Code


Code

23 An EFC cannot be calculated because the Department of Education

has placed an eligibility on

the student

Student needs to call 202-377-4074 to

resolve comment 281.

281

SAM 2020-2021


More information about Reject Codes is available in the 2020-2021 ISIR Guide and 2020-2021

SAR Comment Codes and Text.

Loan Status Codes

Code Status Eligibility for Title IV Group

(ISIR sort

order)

AL Abandoned Loan Yes 3

BC No Prior Default,

Bankruptcy Claim, Discharged

Yes, because loan was not in default and was discharged

5

BK No Prior Default,

Bankruptcy Claim, Active

Yes, because loan was not in default

3

CA Canceled (Perkins = Loan Reversal)

Yes 5

CS Closed School Discharge Yes 5

DA Deferred Yes 4

DB Defaulted, then Bankrupt, Active. (Perkins: all bankruptcies. FFELP and Direct Loans: Chapter 13)

No, unless debtor can show that loan is dischargeable. See Dear Colleague Letter GEN-95-40, dated September 1995

2

DC Defaulted, Compromise Yes, because compromise is recognized as payment in full

5

DD Defaulted, then Died No, because if borrower is reapplying, then loan status is in error

1

DE Death No, because if borrower is reapplying, then loan status is in error

1

DF Defaulted, Unresolved No 2

24 NSLDS Fraud Loan Flag is set

indicating loan was obtained

fraudulently

Student needs to contact the lender

and resolve issue to have the Fraud

Loan Flag reset in NSLDS.

272

https://ifap.ed.gov/isir-guide/08-08-2019-2020-2021-isir-guide



SAM 2020-2021


DI Disability Yes 3

DK Defaulted, then Bankrupt, Discharged. (Perkins: all bankruptcies. FFEL and Direct Loans: Chapter 13)

Yes, because defaulted loan has been totally discharged

5

Code Status Eligibility for Title IV

Group

(ISIR sort

order)

DL Defaulted, in Litigation No 2

DN Defaulted, then Paid in Full through Consolidation Loan

Yes 5

DO Defaulted, then Bankrupt, Active, other. For FFEL and Direct Loans in Chapters 7, 11, and 12

No, unless debtor can show that loan is dischargeable. See Dear Colleague Letter GEN-95-40, dated September 1995

2

DP Defaulted, then Paid in Full Yes, because loan was paid in full 5

DR Defaulted Loan Included in Roll-up Loan

Yes, because the loan was combined with other loans and subrogated to the Department of Education, which reported the same information to NSLDS in one loan. The status of that record will determine eligibility

5

DS Defaulted, then Disabled Yes, because loan debt is canceled 3

DT Defaulted, Collection Terminated No 2

DU Defaulted, Unresolved No 2

DW Defaulted, Write-Off No 2

DX Defaulted, Satisfactory Arrangements, and Six Consecutive Payments

Yes, assuming student continues to comply with repayment plan on defaulted loan or is granted forbearance by the GA

4

SAM 2020-2021


DZ Defaulted, Six Consecutive Payments, then Missed Payment

No, loan is back in active default status

2

FB Forbearance Yes 4


Group

(ISIR sort

order)

FC False Certification Discharge Yes 5

FR Fraud No 2

FX Fraud, Resolved Yes 5

IA Loan Originated Yes 4

ID In School or Grace Period Yes 4

IG In Grace Period Yes 4

IM In Military Grace Yes 4

IP In Post-Deferment Grace (Perkins only)

Yes 4

OD Defaulted, then Bankrupt, Discharged, other. For FFEL and Direct Loans in Chapters 7, 11, and 12

Yes, because defaulted loan has been totally discharged

5

PC Paid in Full through Consolidation Loan

Yes. Does not matter whether consolidation loan was through FFEL or Direct Loan or whether underlying loans were in default

5

PD Permanently Disabled Yes 3

PF Paid in Full Yes 5

PM Presumed Paid in Full Yes 5

SAM 2020-2021


PN Non-defaulted, Paid in Full through Consolidation Loan

Yes 5


Group

(ISIR sort

order)

PX Identity Theft Loan Discharged Yes 2

PZ PLUS Loan, Student has since died No, the deceased student is not eligible because if borrower is reapplying, then loan status is in error

Yes, the living parent of a parent PLUS Loan is eligible to receive Title IV aid

5

RF Refinanced Yes, because defaulted loans cannot be refinanced

5

Assumption Overrides

2020-2021 Note: This table was changed to update FAFSA field numbers and increment the

year references in overrides 5 and 6.

Assumption

Override

Assumption

Made When Override Flag Is

Not Present

Results Of Setting Override Before

Sending Data

Triggering Assumption

Situation

1 Parents’ number in

college assumed to be

1.

Allow number in college

to be greater than 6. The parents’ number of family

members does not equal the number

in college. The parents’ number of

college students in the household

equals 7 or more.

2 Parents’ AGI assumed equal to the sum of the

parent 1 and parent 2

income earned from

work.

Allow parents’ AGI to be

zero if blank or zero is

entered.

Parents’ AGI is blank or zero. Tax

return status is filed, will file, or

blank. Parent 1 income from work

or parent 2 income from work is

positive or negative.

3 Student number in

college assumed to be

1.

Allow number of family

members to be equal to

the number in college

when they are equal and

greater than 2.

The independent student number

of family members equals 3 or

more. The number of college

students in household is the same

value.

SAM 2020-2021


4 Student’s AGI

assumed to be equal

to the sum of the

student’s and spouse’s

income earned from

work.

Allow student AGI to be

zero if blank is entered. The student’s AGI is blank or zero.

Tax return status is filed, will file, or

blank. Student’s income from work

or spouse’s income from work is

positive or negative.

5 Parents’ Additional

Income calculated from

FAFSA question 91is

assumed to be zero.

Allow parents’ income

calculated by CPS from

the Additional Income

FAFSA question to be

greater than zero and

greater than a fixed

percentage of the parents’

total income.

Parents’ calculated 2018 tax status

equals filed. Income calculated by

CPS from the Additional Income

FAFSA questions is greater than a

fixed percentage of parents’ AGI

plus parents’ total from CPS

calculated value for untaxed income.

Parents’ calculated 2018 tax status

equals non-tax filer. CPS calculated

value for Additional Income is

greater than or equal to a fixed

percentage of parent 1 income from

work, parent 2 income from work,

and parents’ total from CPS

calculated value for untaxed income.

6 Student’s Additional

Income calculated from

FAFSA question 43 is

assumed to be zero.

Allow student’s income

calculated by CPS from

the Additional Income

FAFSA question to be

greater than zero, and

equal or greater than

student’s total income.

Students calculated 2018 tax status

equals filed. Income calculated by

CPS from the Additional Income

FAFSA question is greater or equal

to student’s AGI, and student’s total

from CPS calculated value for

untaxed income.

Students calculated 2018 tax status

equals non-filer. CPS calculated

value forAdditional Income is

greater than or equal to a fixed

percentage of student’s income

earned from work, spouse’s income

from work, and student’s total from

CPS calculated value for untaxed

income.

database matches

Documents