IRS partnered with the Department of Education (ED) to simplify the online process to apply for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plans by providing limited tax information necessary to verify income for these programs directly to ED. The automated process will happen in real-time. ED will then release tax data to the college or career school's financial aid office and the annual recertification of income for adjustment of student loan repayment plans. With this change parents and students will no longer need to request transcripts from the IRS for their FASFA or IDR. Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, or Form 4506-C, IVES Request for Transcript of Tax Return, will no longer be accepted from loan servicers, college or career school’s financial aid office or other third parties for FAFSA related income verification. If you need assistance with your FAFSA application visit ED Contact Us | Federal Student Aid or call1-800-433-3243. Congress changed the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to improve the security of tax records and protect the privacy rights of taxpayers and the confidentiality of their tax matters. The IRC provides for the strict confidentiality of tax return information and restricts disclosure of tax information for non-tax programs to only what is necessary and specifically authorized by law.
