FAFSA Information

Oct 5, 2017

The 2018–19 FAFSA® Form Is Here!

The 2018–19 FAFSA cycle began on Oct. 1. The application is available until June 30, 2019—but be sure to remind your students that some funds are limited, so it’s a good idea to apply as soon as possible.

Tell students to apply at fafsa.gov.

Return of IRS Data Retrieval Tool

The IRS DRT is available for the 2018–19 FAFSA cycle.

Beginning with the 2018–19 FAFSA cycle, tax return information transferred from the IRS into fafsa.gov now has stronger security and privacy protections.

  • As a result, the tax information transferred from the IRS does not display on the IRS DRT web page, in the FAFSA form, or on the Student Aid Report.
  • Instead of the user’s tax information being displayed, the phrase “Transferred from the IRS” appears in the appropriate fields on fafsa.gov.

The IRS DRT will not return for the 2017–18 FAFSA cycle. Students and families who need to complete the 2017–18 FAFSA form should manually enter their tax return information into the form.

Learn more about the IRS DRT.

Updated FAFSA® Resources

Federal Student Aid (FSA) staff members have been busy updating FAFSA resources for you.  You’ll find resources, updates, and FAFSA talking points on the Financial Aid Toolkit site. (Remember, the Financial Aid Toolkit is for you, the counselor or mentor. Send students to Student Aid.gov/fafsa for FAFSA information.)

View FAFSA Resource Updates and Links

Digital Outreach Resources

Visit financialaidtoolkit.ed.gov/digital-outreach to access sample social media posts, blog posts, infographics, presentations, videos, and fact sheets that you can use to promote FAFSA completion. Resources will be updated monthly.

Get Digital Resources

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We consider financial aid administrators, school counselors, college access organization staff, and other mentors to be our partners in educating students about applying for and receiving federal student aid. Several times a year, we email our partners with updates about our products and services, reminders about upcoming professional development opportunities, tips for outreach to students, and more. 

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