If you’re working on a Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application and hoping to use the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Data Retrieval Tool, you’re out of luck – at least for now. The tool, as it appears on fafsa.gov and StudentLoans.gov, is currently unavailable. The IRS says it is working to resolve the issue but “the online data tool will be unavailable for several weeks.”
The free service automatically transferred tax data from a taxpayer’s federal tax return directly to a FAFSA form, eliminating the need for extra forms and paper. The service has been available since the 2009-10 school year.
(You can read more about how it works here.)
However, the IRS decided to temporarily suspend the Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) “as a precautionary step following concerns that information from the tool could potentially be misused by identity thieves.” According to the IRS, “the scope of the issue is being explored” as part of a joint investigation with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). At this point, the IRS and the FSA believe the issue is “relatively isolated” and says no additional action is needed. They will provide an update as needed.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) sent a letter to both the IRS Commissioner and Secretary of Education inquiring about the shutdown before the IRS issued its announcement. Rep. Doggett said, about the issue:
The Data Retrieval Tool went dark on Friday with no warning or explanation from the IRS or the Department of Education. After hearing from my constituents about the significant impact, I sought clarification, first by phone, then in a letter, from both. Only then did they issue a statement explaining they took it down and why. Parents and students rely on the tool to quickly and accurately complete their FAFSA — without the DRT more are likely to have errors resulting in the loss or delay of aid. I will keep working to ensure this tool is available and secure.
If it feels like déjà vu all over again, you might be onto something. In 2015, the IRS took the “Get Transcript” tool offline after it found that identity thieves had illegally accessed tax information. At the time, the IRS noted the tool would “remain down until the problem is resolved.” The IRS was alerted to that problem when its monitoring systems noted an unusual amount of activity related to the application and called a press conference to announce those findings.
(Last year, three defendants were indicted on charges related to the illegal access of tax information using the “Get Transcript” tool.)
It’s important to note that, at this time, the IRS has not suggested that the Data Retrieval Tool has been attacked nor that their systems have been affected. However, clearly, something happened that was a cause for concern. I will publish an update as soon as it is available.
In the meantime, families are still able to apply for financial aid. Rather than use the tool, you can manually input the relevant financial information from copies of your tax returns. If you don’t have a copy of your tax return, you can use Get Transcript Online tool (it’s still operational). You may also request a transcript online to be delivered by mail or call 1.800.908.9946, and a transcript will be delivered to your address of record within five to 10 days.
Even though the data retrieval tool is down, the online FAFSA and income-driven repayment (IDR) applications are still available.
(Author’s note: The post was updated to include a statement from Rep. Doggett.)
