IRS Integration

Blackbaud Financial Aid Management integrates with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to streamline income verification for the financial aid process, making it faster, more accurate, and more secure. By connecting directly with the IRS, verified tax documents are received promptly, enabling quicker application reviews and confident award decisions.

Tip: The IRS integration is rolling out to schools in waves beginning on January 21, 2026. Check your Enable IRS Integration status in General School Settings to determine if it is turned on for your school.

How it works

When completing the financial aid application, parents select your school and choose one of two methods for providing income verification documents:

  • Option 1: Upload all documents

    Parents manually upload their financial documents (for example, Form 1040 - U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, pay stubs, W-2).

  • Option 2: Allow IRS data transfer

    Parents authorize Blackbaud to receive their Form 1040 directly from the IRS. Parents must still manually upload any additional required documents.

    Tip: You can see which option a family selected on their Main Family Page under Application Data. IRS Data Transfer is No if they selected Upload all documents or Yes if they selected Allow IRS data transfer.

When parents select Option 2: Allow IRS data transfer, they are prompted to complete and e-sign two forms:

  • Halcyon Consent Form: Halcyon is a third-party partner. Parents insert their signatures at the bottom of the page.

  • Form 8821 – Tax Information Authorization: Parents enter their Social Security Numbers in Section 1 and insert their signatures in Section 6.

After completing both forms, parents continue filling out their financial aid application. After parents submit their application and payment: 

  1. Halcyon sends the parents an email with instructions to sign into IRS.gov using their ID.me account.

  2. Parents generate and approve a Tax Information Authorization request, allowing Blackbaud to receive their Form 1040 data.

Parents can find step-by-step instructions in our parent help documentation.