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Schools are being reminded again to upgrade software to handle Federal Tax Information
November 09, 2023
Even though you don't need it just yet, you will soon. So, the Department of Education is reminding schools to upgrade their software to handle 2024-25 FAFSA® data.
“As we have informed Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) users in multiple Electronic Announcements, upgraded software will be required for transmission of federal tax information (FTI) for the 2024-25 award year and beyond,” the Department said in a November 8 Electronic Announcement (EA).
The Department said new versions of EDconnect 8.6.0 and TDClient are now available on the Software and Other Tools page of the Knowledge Center website, along with an accompanying user guide that includes installation instructions.
According to the Department, the upgraded SAIG software must be installed to receive 2024-25 Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) in a new FTI-SAIG mailbox.
“The FTI-SAIG will be a new instance of the SAIG – a separate system from the existing SAIG – and it will include updated security protocols and enhanced features to ensure protection of FTI data during transmission,” the Department said in the announcement. “The FTI-SAIG has been designed to exclusively handle the transmission of ISIR data containing FTI, while the existing SAIG will remain the designated platform for handling all other types of batch data.”
The current versions of EDconnect and TDClient will continue to be available and can be used with the existing SAIG system. However, SAIG users who expect to receive 2024-25 ISIRs must install and use the updated software for transmission with the FTI-SAIG:
The Department said users do not need to wait for the launch of the 2024-25 FAFSA cycle to install and use the upgraded software. However, to use the software for 2024-25 ISIR data, users will need to sign and submit an updated SAIG enrollment agreement and enroll for an FTI-SAIG mailbox.