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Online taxes speed up financial aid
Director Ken Grugel, along will office staff Lindsay Smith (left) and Chelsea Leuschel (right) prepare for the upcoming tax season. Kelsey Huebert / The Clarion Call
Clarion, Pa. – Around this time of year, Clarion’s Financial Aid office begins reminding students and their parents to re-apply for financial aid by filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.
While acquiring the necessary cash to attend college can be a headache for some, there are easy ways to expedite the process.
Ken Grugel, Clarion’s director of financial aid, can offer the best advice.
Grugel said the biggest concern is communication between students and parents about tax preparation.
“Some students filing their taxes online will claim themselves as a tax exemption,” Grugel said, “while their parents do the same, claiming them as a dependent.”
Grurel said the IRS does not always catch these mistakes, but in the financial aid verification process it can’t be missed.
By law, a minimum of 30 percent of applicants must be verified, which is about 2,000 students.
“If they are then selected for verification,” Grugel said, “then the tax forms have to be amended.”
Generally it is the student’s tax report that is amended, according to Grugel, which means the student would owe the federal government the value of the exemption.
“You cannot be an exemption on two people’s taxes,” Grugel said, “and generally, it’s more costly for the parents if they don’t claim the exemption.”
Grugel said this year a dependent tax exemption is worth $3,500.
“This kind of situation leaves the financial aid process dead in the water until one of the parties files an amended return.”
This is the primary situation slowing down the financial aid verification process, Grugel said.
“Before a student does their taxes,” Grugel said “they should make sure whether they will be claimed as a dependent on their parent’s tax return.”
Grugel said filing taxes online is the best way to speed up the financial aid process.
“If people wait two weeks after filing their taxes online,” Grugel said, “then they can import their tax information onto their FASFA form.”
By importing the information directly from the IRS, students can ensure accuracy and save time.
Normally, to verify tax information, the Financial Aid office would have to request the information from the applicant, who then often must request it from the IRS.
Grugel said this simple step isn’t the only important thing students need to know to have a smooth financial process through the sometimes expensive college experience.
Having a well-rounded knowledge of finance and budgeting is the key to saving money, buying wisely and building good credit, Grugel said.
“Most people, college students included, have some trouble managing their finances,” Grugel said.
Grugel said that on Clarion University’s Financial Aid website is a link to CashCourse, a website that helps people, particularly college students, make sound financial decisions.
CashCourse is sponsored by the National Endowment for Financial Education.
The NEFE provides advice on budgeting, financial planning, banking, credit cards and managing debts.
Focusing on financial management, it does not advise students on financial aid.
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