It is now possible for families to electronically submit 2010 tax information from the Internal Revenue Service to the FAFSA online form through the agency's Service Data Retrieval Option.

 

The applicant completing the FAFSA authorizes the secure data exchange by clicking yes to the option asking if income information can be transferred from the IRS Web site onto the FAFSA application, Mike Miller, director of UCSB Financial Aid, told the Santa Barbara Independent.

 

Tax information can be submitted approximately two weeks after taxpayers receive IRS confirmation that their return was received. People who cannot file until mid-February because of recent changes to the tax laws will not have access to the information until the end of the month, according to The Wall Street Journal.

 

State and federal deadlines for college students to apply for financial assistance are quickly approaching, with some as early as February 15.