FAFSA

The FAFSA is introducing the new term contributor, which refers to anyone who is required to provide information on a student’s FAFSA form, including the student, the student’s spouse, a biological or adopted parent, or the parent’s spouse. Being a contributor does not imply responsibility for the student's college costs.

• Students will need the contributor’s name, date of birth, Social Security Number (SSN), and email address to invite them to complete the required portion of the FAFSA.
• Contributors will need to provide personal and financial information on their section of the FAFSA.

If your parents are divorced or separated, the contributing parent(s) is the parent (and their spouse, if remarried) who provided the greater portion of your financial support during the 12 months immediately prior to filing the FAFSA. It is not automatically the parent you primarily lived with during the past 12 months.

All Contributors–student, student's spouse (if married), and student's parents(s) (if a dependent student)–must provide consent to have tax data transferred directly from the IRS to the FAFSA. If consent is not provided by all parties, the student will not be eligible for federal financial aid. In previous years, transferring IRS data was optional. It is now required.

The need analysis formula to determine financial aid, formerly known as the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), will now be referred to as the Student Aid Index (SAI). Unlike the EFC, the SAI may be a negative number.

Small businesses and family farms are now considered assets*.
*The Department of Education will provide more details in the coming months.

The number of family members in college will still be asked on the FAFSA, but it will be excluded from the federal, state, and institutional financial aid calculation.

The Student Aid Report (SAR) will now be referred to as the FAFSA Submission Summary. This is the summary submission document you receive after completing the FAFSA.

The adjustments to the new Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation will expand Federal Pell Grant eligibility to more students.

All students and contributors must create an FSA ID if they are:

• Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form
• Signing your Master Promissory Note (MPN)
• Applying for repayment plans
• Completing loan counseling
• Using the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Help Tool

To create an FSA ID, go to StudentAid.gov and click "Create an FSA ID." You will need to provide:

• Social Security number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
• Full name
• Date of birth
• Email address
• Mobile phone number

You will also need to create a memorable username and password and complete challenge questions and answers to retrieve your account information if you forget it.

You can create an FSA ID at any time, but it is recommended that you create it at least a week or two before you start filling out the FAFSA form. This will give you time to verify your FSA ID and make sure that it is working properly.

This Federal Student Aid video can help create a step-by-step FSA ID.

Two-step verification is a security feature that helps protect your StudentAid.gov account from fraud. When you enable two-step verification, you will be required to enter a code from your mobile phone in addition to your username and password when you log in to your account.

Yes. Each contributor must have a unique phone number or email for multi-factor authentication.

This depends on the family's situation. For example, if a student has married parents filing taxes separately, both parents will need to make an FSA ID.

None. Just ensure they are verified and ready to use when the FAFSA 2024-25 opens sometime in December 2023.

A contributor is anyone required to provide consent and approval for obtaining federal tax information needed to complete a student's FAFSA. If applicable, it may include:

• Student
• Student's spouse
• Biological or adopted parent
• Parent's spouse (stepparent)

• Grandparents
• Foster parents
• Legal guardians
• Brothers or sisters
• Aunts or uncles

• Name
• Date of birth
• Social Security number
• Email address
• Personal and financial information

1. Receive an email informing you that you've been identified as a contributor.
2. Create a StudentAid.gov account if you don't already have one.
3. Log in to your account using your FSA ID account username and password.
4. Review information about completing your section of the FAFSA form.
5. Provide the required information on the student's FAFSA form.

• The parent who provides the most financial support should complete it.
• If one parent pays child support, that parent should complete the FAFSA if the child support amounts to more than half of the student's support.
• If a dependent student's parents are unmarried and living together, both parents will need to complete the FAFSA as contributors.
• If the parent who provides most financial support is remarried, that parent and the stepparent's income should be on the FAFSA, even if they were not yet married on the requested tax year.

Starting 2024–25 award year, some financial information previously considered income or previously excluded from asset reporting will be required as assets instead. These include:

• Annual amount of child support received.
• Net worth of all businesses, regardless of the size or number of employees.
• Net worth of farm including the value of a family farm (family primary's residence is still excluded). This includes the fair market value of land, buildings, livestock, unharvested crops, and machinery actively used in investment farms or agricultural or commercial activities, minus any debts help against those assets.
• For dependent students, education savings accounts will only be counted as parental assets if the account is designated for the student.

• Students with a negative SAI are eligible for the maximum Pell Grant.
• Non-tax filers receive automatic -1500 SAI. The maximum EFC was 0 (zero).
• AGI, household size, and federal poverty guidelines determine Pell Grant eligibility.

Pell grant will no longer be awarded per enrollment category, but per amount of credits, as shown in the table below.

Reflective of a Standard Term Program