Millions of students were affected when the IRS disabled the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) back in March due to security concerns. Taking down the data retrieval tool caused havoc for students applying for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). At the time, the IRS said the online data tool would be “unavailable for several weeks.”
Months later, starting on Oct. 1, the IRS DRT will be reinstated in time for the 2018-19 FAFSA cycle.
The changes, which were implemented to “enhance the security and privacy of sensitive personal data transferred to the FAFSA from the IRS,” included limiting the information displayed to applicants.
