After federal officials announced last week that the Internal Revenue Service data retrieval tool would be unavailable for "several weeks" because of concerns about security, college access advocates and financial aid administrations said repercussions would be go beyond a more burdensome financial aid application process.
The shutdown of the tool could also complicate enrollment in income-driven repayment programs for student borrowers seeking more affordable terms on their student loans. And it could cause more instances of a new flag known as a Code 399, which arose from the switch to use of prior-prior year income data in this financial aid cycle -- a change that allowed an earlier timeline for aid applications because students can submit tax information from two years earlier rather than the tax year that is concluding as applications are due.
The data retrieval tool allows students to automatically transfer household tax information already on file with the federal government into aid applications -- a feature created to speed up the aid application process while cutting down on errors. Now, like those students completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, borrowers applying for income-driven repayment plans will have to manually enter that information.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/03/13/shutdown-irs-data-tool-affects-income-driven-repayment-creates-further-discrepancies