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Reminding FAFSA applicants to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool

By Beth Ziehmer

December 21, 2016

Those who work in or work with the financial aid industry understand the importance of using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT). The IRS DRT allows the tax return information to come directly from the IRS, preventing errors and inconsistencies when populating the data.

In a December 15, 2016 Electronic Announcement, the U.S. Department of Education announced that they have begun sending e-mail notifications to students and parents who didn't use the DRT to encourage them to log back into the FAFSA and submit corrections through using the DRT.

Although the first wave of e-mails has been sent, other queries will be run every month or two to identify other students and parents that might need a reminder.

Help your students and families by also reminding them that it's best to use the IRS DRT to ensure accurate data is reported.