The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) is once again available to assist those applying online for an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan or filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) later this year.

Established in September 2010, the IRS DRT provides tax data that automatically fills in information for part of the FAFSA form, as well as the income-driven repayment plan application for federal student loan borrowers.

In a joint-statement released in March by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) and the IRS, it was confirmed that the DRT was taken down as a precautionary step while officials work to strengthen the security of information provided by the tool.

FSA and IRS announced on May 3 that the DRT would not be returning for the 2017-18 FAFSA form, but the tool would be available to use on the 2018-19 FAFSA form on fafsa.gov when it launches Oct. 1, 2017.

On June 2, the two agencies revealed that the data retrieval tool was available to borrowers applying for an IDR plan.

To address privacy and security concerns, users’ tax return information will be encrypted and hidden from view on the IRS DRT web page, as well as on the online IDR application and FAFSA webpage. Applicants will also be informed that they have successfully transferred their tax return information, and the complete IDR application will be sent to their federal loan servicer for processing.

Visit FinancialAidToolkit.ed.gov site for updates, forms, worksheets, guides, and other FAFSA-related information.

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