Notice2025-23632
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
Primary source
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Published
December 23, 2025
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 and the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Amendments of 1990 (Privacy Act), and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on the conduct of matching programs, notice is hereby given of the re-establishment of the matching program between the U.S. Department of Education (Department), as the recipient agency, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as the source agency, for the purpose of determining eligibility for, or the amount of repayments of obligations under, Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans, the Direct Loan Program, and determining eligibility for and the amount of Federal student financial aid under the Pell Grant Program, Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program, and the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Program, under the authority of the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education Act (FUTURE Act), Public Law 116-91, 133 Stat. 1189-1197 (2019), as amended by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Public Law 116-136, 134 Stat. 281-615 (2020), and the FAFSA Simplification Act, title VII of division FF of Public Law 116- 260, 134 Stat. 3137-3201 (2020) (which is part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021), as amended by the FAFSA Simplification Act Technical Corrections Act, division R of Public Law 117-103, 136 Stat. 819-821 (2022) (which is part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 244 (Tuesday, December 23, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 23, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60080-60082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-23632]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket ID ED-2025-FSA-0811]
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of a new matching program.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by the
Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 and the Computer
Matching and Privacy Protection Amendments of 1990 (Privacy Act), and
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on the conduct of
matching programs, notice is hereby given of the re-establishment of
the matching program between the U.S. Department of Education
(Department), as the recipient agency, and the U.S. Department of the
Treasury (Treasury), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as the source
agency, for the purpose of determining eligibility for, or the amount
of repayments of obligations under, Income-Driven Repayment (IDR)
plans, the Direct Loan Program, and determining eligibility for and the
amount of Federal student financial aid under the Pell Grant Program,
Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program, and the Federal Supplemental
Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Program, under the authority of
the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education
Act (FUTURE Act), Public Law 116-91, 133 Stat. 1189-1197 (2019), as
amended by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
(CARES Act), Public Law 116-136, 134 Stat. 281-615 (2020), and the
FAFSA Simplification Act, title VII of division FF of Public Law 116-
260, 134 Stat. 3137-3201 (2020) (which is part of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2021), as amended by the FAFSA Simplification Act
Technical Corrections Act, division R of Public Law 117-103, 136 Stat.
819-821 (2022) (which is part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2022).
DATES: The period of this matching program is estimated to cover the
18-month period from January 30, 2026 through July 29, 2027. However,
the matching program will become applicable at the later of the
following two dates: January 30, 2026, or 30 days after the publication
of this notice, on December 23, 2025, unless comments have been
received from interested members of the public requiring modification
and republication of the notice. The matching program will continue for
18 months after the applicable date and may be extended for up to an
additional 12 months, if the Data Integrity Boards (DIBs) of ED and
Treasury determine that the conditions specified in 5 U.S.C.
552a(o)(2)(D) have been met.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a>. However, if you require an accommodation or
cannot otherwise submit your comments via <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a>, please
contact the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. The Department will not accept comments submitted by fax or by
email, or comments submitted after the comment period. To ensure that
the Department does not receive duplicate copies, please submit your
comments only once. In addition, please include the Docket ID at the
top of your comments.
[ssquf] Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> to
submit your comments electronically. Information on using
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents,
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site
under ``FAQ''.
Privacy Note: The Department's policy is generally to make comments
received from members of the public available for public viewing in
their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. Therefore, commenters should include in their
comments only information about themselves that they wish to make
publicly available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Corinne Sauri, Program Analyst, U.S.
Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, 400 Maryland Ave. SW,
Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 245-6412.
If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Privacy Act, OMB
``Final Guidance Interpreting the Provisions of Public Law 100-503, the
Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988,'' published in
the Federal Register on June 19, 1989 (54 FR 25818-25829), and OMB
Circular No. A-108, notice is hereby provided of the re-establishment
of a matching program between the IRS and the Department pursuant to
which the IRS will disclose to the Department certain FTI of an
individual, upon approval being provided by the individual to the
Department, for the purpose of determining eligibility for, or
repayment obligations under, IDR plans under title
[[Page 60081]]
IV of the HEA with respect to loans under part D of title IV of the
HEA; and determining eligibility for, and amount of, Federal student
financial aid under the Pell Grant Program authorized under subpart 1
of part A of Title IV of the HEA, FWS Program, and the FSEOG Program
authorized under part C of title IV of the HEA or the Direct Loan
Program, as set forth in IRC 6103(l)(13)(A) and (C).
The FTI that the IRS discloses to the Department under sections
6103(l)(13)(A) and (C) of the IRC may also be used by ED for the
purposes of: (a) reducing the net cost of improper payments: (i) under
IDR plans and (ii) relating to awards of Federal student financial aid
under the Pell Grant, FWS and Direct Loan programs; (b) oversight by
the Department's OIG as authorized by chapter 4 of title 5 of the
United States Code, except for the purpose of conducting criminal
investigations or prosecutions; and (c) conducting analyses and
forecasts for estimating costs related to: (i) IDR plans and (ii)
awards of Federal student financial aid under a program authorized
under the Pell Grant, FWS and Direct Loan programs, as set forth in IRC
Sec. 6103(l)(13)(D). The FTI will not be duplicated or redisclosed for
these uses.
Participating Agencies
U.S. Department of Education (Department) and the U.S. Department
of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Authority for Conducting the Matching Program
This matching program is authorized by the FUTURE Act, as amended.
The FUTURE Act amended section 6103(l)(13) of the IRC to authorize the
IRS to disclose to ED certain FTI for the purposes set forth in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this Notice provided certain
conditions are satisfied. In addition, 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) provides
authority for the IRS to disclose Privacy Act-protected records to the
Department pursuant to a published routine use in an applicable system
of records notice for a purpose that is compatible with the purposes
for which the IRS collected the records. Further, the Department is
authorized to participate in the matching program pursuant to the HEA,
including sections 483 and 494(a) and (b) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1090
and 1098h(a) and (b)) and the FUTURE Act.
Purpose(s)
The purpose of this matching program between the IRS and the
Department is for the IRS to disclose to the Department certain FTI of
an individual, upon approval being provided by the individual to the
Department, for determining eligibility for, or repayment obligations
under, IDR plans under title IV of the HEA with respect to loans under
part D of title IV of the HEA; and determining eligibility for, and
amount of, Federal student financial aid under a program authorized
under subpart 1 of part A, part C, or part D of title IV of the HEA.
The FTI that the IRS discloses to ED under sections 6103(l)(13)(A)
and (C) of the IRC may also be used by the Department for the purposes
of: (a) reducing the net cost of improper payments: (i) under IDR plans
and (ii) relating to awards of Federal student financial aid under the
Pell Grant, FWS and Direct Loan programs; (b) oversight by ED's OIG as
authorized by chapter 4 of title 5 of the United States Code, except
for the purpose of conducting criminal investigations or prosecutions;
and (c) conducting analyses and forecasts for estimating costs related
to: (i) IDR plans and (ii) awards of Federal student financial aid
under a program authorized under the Pell Grant, FWS and Direct Loan
programs, as set forth in IRC Sec. 6103(l)(13)(D). The FTI will not be
duplicated or redisclosed for these uses.
The FTI information that the Department will obtain as a result of
this matching program effectuates the purpose of the HEA because it
provides an efficient and comprehensive match to determine eligibility
for, and the amount of, Federal student financial aid under a program
authorized under subpart 1 of part A, part C, or part D of title IV of
the HEA, and eligibility for, or repayment obligations under, IDR plans
for loans under the Federal Direct Loan Program.
Categories of Individuals
This matching program covers students (including a student's spouse
for an independent student and a student's parent(s) for dependent
student) who apply for Federal student financial assistance under title
IV of the HEA through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA[supreg]) and borrowers (including spouses of borrowers who are
independent students) who have had a loan disbursed and are fully
responsible to pay the loan and interest back to the loan holder under
applicable Federal student loan programs administered under the
authority of title IV of the HEA, or who have such a loan written off
due to default. This matching program also includes as a ``borrower''
an individual who is responsible for completing a service obligation
and fails to complete the service obligation in exchange for having
received a grant under the Teacher Education Assistance for College and
Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program authorized under subpart 9 of
part A of title IV of the HEA.
Categories of Records
This matching program covers the following categories of records:
(1) An applicant's information submitted to the Department to
determine the applicant's eligibility for Federal student financial
assistance under a program authorized under subpart 1 of part A, part
C, or part D of title IV of the HEA;
(2) A borrower's information submitted to ED to determine the
borrower's eligibility for, or repayment obligations under, IDR plans
under title IV of the HEA with respect to loans under part D of title
IV of the HEA;
(3) An applicant's approval and consent submitted to ED to process
an application for determining eligibility for Federal student
financial assistance under a program authorized under subpart 1 of part
A, part C, or part D of aid under title IV of the HEA;
(4) A borrower's approval and consent submitted to ED to process an
application for determining eligibility for, or repayment obligations
under, IDR plans under title IV of the HEA with respect to loans under
part D of title IV of the HEA; and
(5) FTI on individuals from the IRS' Customer Account Data Engine
(CADE) Individual Master File.
More specifically, the Department will transmit the following
specific data elements to the IRS under the matching program:
(1) Social Security Number (SSN)/Taxpayer Identification Number
(TIN);
(2) Tax year for which FTI is required;
(3) Last name;
(4) Date of birth (DOB);
(5) Unique identifier; and
(6) Date/time stamp of the individual's approval for use of FTI in
determining eligibility by ED.
In addition, in response to a valid request submitted by ED to the
IRS pursuant to section 6103(l)(13)(A) of the IRC (IDR request) that
matches a tax record for the requested SSN/TIN and tax year, the IRS
will return the following specific data elements to ED:
(1) SSN/TIN (provided in the request);
(2) Tax year (associated with FTI provided);
(3) Last name;
(4) Filing status code;
(5) Adjusted gross income (AGI) amount;
[[Page 60082]]
(6) Total number of exemptions; and
(7) Total number of dependents.
Further, in response to a valid request submitted by ED to the IRS
pursuant to section 6103(l)(13)(C) of the IRC (FAFSA request) that
matches a tax record for the requested SSN/TIN and tax year, the IRS
will return the following specific data elements to ED:
(1) SSN/TIN (provided in the request);
(2) Tax year (provided in the request);
(3) Last name (provided in the request);
(4) Filing status code;
(5) AGI amount;
(6) Total number of exemptions;
(7) Total number of dependents;
(8) Income earned from work (sum of wages, farm income, Schedule C
income);
(9) Total amount of income tax paid;
(10) Total allowable education credits;
(11) Sum of untaxed IRA contributions and other payments to
qualified plans;
(12) Total amount of untaxed IRA distributions;
(13) Tax exempt interest;
(14) Sum of untaxed pensions and annuities;
(15) Net profit/loss from Schedule C; and
(16) Indicator of filing for Schedules A, B, D, E, F, and H.
System(s) of Records
The Department will disclose, with written consent, to the IRS
information under this matching program from the Department's systems
of records notice entitled ``FUTURE Act System (FAS)'' (18-11-23),
published in the Federal Register on June 29, 2023 (88 FR 42220-42226).
The IRS will disclose to the Department FTI under this matching
program from the IRS's system of records notice entitled ``Customer
Account Data Engine (CADE) Individual Master File (IMF)--Treasury/IRS''
(Treasury/IRS 24.030), published in the Federal Register on September
8, 2015 (80 FR 54082-54083).
Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file,
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible
format.
Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of
Federal Regulations at <a href="http://www.govinfo.gov">www.govinfo.gov</a>. At this site you can view this
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at
the site.
You may also access documents of the Department published in the
Federal Register by using the article search feature at
<a href="http://www.federalregister.gov">www.federalregister.gov</a>. Specifically, through the advanced search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Richard Lucas,
Acting Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 2025-23632 Filed 12-22-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 23, 2025.
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