Should you trust the DRT for your FAFSA?

As Ronald Reagan once said in jest, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help.   When it comes to the DRT (Data Retrieval Tool), the intent was to make FAFSA completion easier.  Since the FAFSA asks for things like AGI, taxes paid, etc, instead of forcing parents to recall their exact numbers, they developed the DRT which automatically retrieves those things from the appropriate year's tax return and populates them in the right spot on the FAFSA.  

Unfortunately, the IRS got a little shaky when they discovered a possible data breach and subsequently suspended the use of the DRT until further notice.  That further notice has now occurred and the DRT is back and available WITH CONDITIONS.   Those conditions are intended to further SECURE your transferred data.  Accomplishment of that goal is achieved by making the transferred numbers INVISIBLE.  Yep, they are hidden from view and only digitally available to the FAFSA algorithms.  Seems pretty secure if no one can see those numbers, right?

Not so fast.   Remember, the FAFSA is going to determine how much a family should have to pay for college (that's the EFC).  Most families won't have a clue what their EFC should be, so after the DRT is invoked and those hidden numbers come over to the FAFSA, the parent will have no way to determine if the correct numbers came over!  I'm not a fan!   

Even if a family is educated enough on the entire aid eligibility process and understands the EFC calculations, once they use the DRT, they face a very uphill battle if they decide to CHALLENGE the accuracy of the data that was transferred.  Essentially, a challenge after the DRT will invoke an audit.  

My recommendation for my own clients?   Avoid the DRT.  It may be a little more work on the front end and not as efficient as an automated data retrieval, but at the end of the day, I want my clients to retain as much control of the process as possible.  And if they want my help, I'd like to know with certainty exactly what was submitted on the FAFSA form.   Using the DRT will result in an assumption that the correct data was sent.   

And you know what they say about ASS-U-ME-ing!