FILING THE 2025-26 FAFSA

What are Contributors on the FAFSA 2025-26? 
Contributor is a new term introduced on the 2025-26 FAFSA form. It refers to anyone asked to provide information on a student's FAFSA form, i.e., the student, the student's spouse, a biological or adopted parent, or the parent's spouse (stepparent).

A Contributor is NOT a grandparent, foster parent, legal guardian, brother or sister, aunt or uncle, even if they helped provide for or raise the student.

A Contributor on the FAFSA form doesn't mean they are financially responsible for the student's education costs.

How are Contributors determined? 
The student's or parent's answers will determine which contributors (if any) will be required to provide information. For help determining who is a contributor visit the Who is my Parent FAFSA Wizard on studentaid.gov.  

What do Contributors need to provide? 
These contributors will be invited to complete their portion of the FAFSA form by entering their name, date of birth, Social Security number, if applicable, and email address. They must also provide personal and financial information in their own sections of the FAFSA form.

What are the steps Contributors must follow?

1. Contributor receives an email informing them that they've been identified as a contributor.
2. Contributor creates a StudentAid.gov account if they don't already have one.
3. Contributor logs in to account using their FSA ID  account username and password.
4. Contributor reviews information about completing their section of the FAFSA form.
5. Contributor provides the required information on the student's FAFSA form.

What if I am a Contributor and don't want to provide my information in my student's FAFSA? 
Being a contributor does NOT implicate financial responsibility. However, if a required contributor refuses to provide their information, it will result in an incomplete FAFSA form, and the student will become ineligible for federal student aid. 

What if my parents are divorced? Who is the contributor to my FAFSA? 
Students that live with a single/divorced/widowed parent and receive most financial support from that parent, will report only one parent on the FAFSA.

The parent included in the FAFSA as a contributor must be the parent that provides the greater portion of the student's financial support. If that primary parent is remarried, the income of that parent's spouse (stepparent) will also be required. 

Why does the FAFSA 2025-26 require consent from students and contributors? 
According to the Future Act, all students and contributors must provide consent to the following:

• Have their federal tax information transferred directly into the FAFSA® form via direct data exchange with the IRS;
• Have their federal tax information used to determine the student's eligibility for federal student aid; and
• Allow the U.S. Department of Education to share its federal tax information with postsecondary institutions and state higher education agencies for use in awarding and administering financial aid.

Important: Even if students or contributors don't have a Social Security number, didn't file taxes, or filed taxes outside of the U.S., they still need to provide consent.

What if I don't want to provide consent as a student or a required contributor? 

• If a student or required contributor doesn't provide consent to have their federal tax information transferred into the FAFSA® form, the student will not be eligible for federal student aid—even if they manually enter tax information into the FAFSA form.
• Information about how federal tax information will be used and the consequences of not providing consent will be included on the FAFSA form.
• Legal parents must provide consent to transfer federal tax information, even if one of the parents didn't file or had no income. If parents fail to provide consent, the student won't be eligible to receive federal student aid.

Note: It is recommended that the student starts the FAFSA and invites the parent(s) to contribute to the form.

A contributor without an SSN will need to complete an extra step to confirm identification when setting up the FSA ID. If the contributor is not able to answer the additional questions they will receive information on how to submit documentation of identity. 

Some applicants are receiving an error message when inviting contributors without a SSN.

• This is caused by a mismatch between the contributor’s information entered in the invitation and the contributor’s information on the studentaid.gov account.
•  Contributors with a foreign address may need to change the address to a U.S. address. 
  

What is FSA ID, and who needs it?

1. All students and contributors must create a StudentAid.gov account to complete the FAFSA form online.
2. Students and contributors will use their FSA ID account username and password to log in to their accounts.
3. Even if a parent or spouse contributor doesn't have a Social Security number, they can still get an FSA ID using their ITIN to fill out their portion of the student's FAFSA form online.

Do parents and students need to wait until FAFSA 2025-26 opens in December to create an FSA ID? 
No. The FSA ID process is not changing. It's even better that parents and students can create the FSA ID and have it ready anytime before the FAFSA application starts.  

How do I or other contributors create an FSA ID? 
To create an FSA ID, you'll need your Social Security number (SSN). Other information required is full name and date of birth. You'll 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'll be required to provide your email address or mobile phone number when you make your FSA ID. Providing a mobile phone number and/or email address that you have access to will make it easier to log in to ED online systems and allow you to verify your FSA ID before using it on the FAFSA and additional account recovery options.

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

Do parents without social security numbers also need to have an FSA ID? 
Yes. Parents and/or spouses who are not U.S. Citizens or Eligible Noncitizens will answer TransUnion® questions, specific to the parent, to verify their identity.

We have step-by-step instructions here.

What if my parents are not in the United States? 
Your parents' citizenship status doesn't affect your eligibility for federal aid. For FAFSA purposes, you must provide your parents' income, no matter where they reside.

My parent remarried. Is the parent's spouse required to get an FSA ID as well? 
If the parent you indicate on the FAFSA is the parent who remarried, it'll depend on how they filed taxes. If they filed jointly, only one parent needs an FSA ID. If they filed separately, both parents would need their own FSA ID.

Will parents and students need to create a new FSA ID if they have had an FSA ID in the past? 
No. You can retrieve your existing FSA ID if you forgot your username and password.

I created an FSA ID at a FAFSA night at my high school and could not use it immediately. Do you recommend creating it a few days before?  
We have seen different situations when a parent creates their FSA ID, verifies it, and is ready to use, and sometimes the system asks them to wait 24-48 hours to use it. It depends on the information matching system. 

We recommend creating it a few days before starting the form. FSA IDs made on the day of might work but will not have full functionality yet, like using the Direct Data Exchange (DDX) to transfer tax information.

Why do I have to set up two-step verification for my StudentAid.gov Account? 
Two-step verification, a form of multi-factor authentication (MFA), helps protect your StudentAid.gov account with additional protection from fraud.

So each contributor needs a unique phone number or email for multi-factor authentication? 
Yes! For example, a student and parent cannot use the same phone number for MFA.

Do both parents need to create FSA ID or just one like before? 
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.

What is the impact if the student and parent already have an FSA ID? 
None. Just ensure they are verified and ready to use when the FAFSA 2025-26 opens in December 2024.

If a parent does not want to or refuses to create an FSA ID, is there an alternative for that parent to provide consent, such as mailing a wet signed consent page?  
A separate signature page is no longer available. If a parent refuses to create an FSA ID then the FAFSA will need to be completed via the paper application and contain wet signatures from all contributors, including the parents, who affirm their consent. The application will then need to be mailed to Federal Student Aid processors. This method is not recommended due to complexity and increased processing time.

What is consent, and why do I have to provide it when completing the FAFSA 2025-26? 
The Future Act requires that every contributor on the FAFSA provide consent to share their taxes information in the application so that the IRS can share this information with Federal Student Aid (FSA). All parties whose Federal Tax Information (FTI) is included on a student's FAFSA form must consent annually. 

The consent will be required when a student submits a FAFSA, chooses Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) when starting loan repayment, or submits the Total and Permanent Disability discharge (TPD) within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for totally and permanently disabled students. 

The consent is necessary not only for the Department of Education to request federal tax information from the IRS but also to use that FTI in the federal student aid application process, as well as do other things such as redisclose that information to certain eligible entities, such as higher education institutions. 

What happens if I, as a student, or a spouse or parent, don't want to provide consent on the FAFSA? 
If a student, spouse, or parent doesn't provide consent on the FAFSA, the Student Aid Index (SAI) will not be calculated, and the student will not be eligible for any federal aid. 

What if I had a low income and was not required to file taxes? 
According to the IRS tax year 2023, these are the thresholds by filing status.
If an independent student (and spouse, if married), or a parent of a dependent student, were not required to file a federal income tax return for 2023, then the student will automatically receive a Student Aid Index (SAI) equal to –1500. They still need to provide consent when submitting the FAFSA, so the IRS can confirm to Federal Student Aid (FSA) the student, parents, and spouse didn't file taxes. 

Will non-custodial parents be contributors if they have not claimed the child on their taxes? 
Students will determine which parent to report based on which one provides the most financial support. It is ok if the parent or parents reported do not claim the student on their taxes. The reported parents will provide consent to transfer their taxes data even if they do not claim the student on their taxes.

If parents that are remarried provide more support to the child than a biological parent, does the stepparent have to provide their taxes information? 
Yes. If the parent providing more financial support is remarried, the stepparent's tax information is required. 

What if my parent or stepparent does not want to provide their tax information for my FAFSA? 
Our Counselors can offer to talk directly with the parent or stepparent to explain why that information is needed and answer any questions, which sometimes puts them at ease about how their sensitive info will be used. However, we cannot provide tax advice. 

How do I report small business or farm value as assets on the FAFSA?
Independent students or parents are the best sources for this estimate; they can also consult their accountant or other financial professional if they have access to one to estimate the amounts to report.

I – and/or my parents or spouse – amended our taxes. Will the Federal Tax Information (FTI) transfer the amended tax information?  
No. If you would like your amended taxes to be updated on your FAFSA submit both a signed copy of the original 2023 IRS form 1040, with applicable schedules, and a signed copy of the IRS form 1040X.

Can I self-report my income on FAFSA?  
After you provide consent on the FAFSA, if the IRS cannot transfer your Federal Tax Information (FTI) to your FAFSA application, the application will allow you to self-report it. Self-reporting one's tax information on the FAFSA does not override the requirement for each required contributor to provide consent on the FAFSA form. 

If a FAFSA contributor is a non-filer and has zero wages, do they have to provide consent?
Any individual who is a contributor to the FAFSA application must provide consent.

What happens if a contributor provides consent but doesn't sign the application?  
Once an application is started online, all parties must complete it online. If a signature is missing, the parent or the contributor that needs to complete their section and/or sign the application must obtain an FSA ID and complete their section. There is no option to print a signature page any longer.  

Students and parents will be required to have an FSA ID to complete the FAFSA application online. If they choose to mail a paper FAFSA, both will need to provide consent on the paper FAFSA, and both will need to provide wet signatures and mail the application to the Department of Education address on the paper application. This method is not recommended due to complexity and increased processing time.

In what situations will there be a match with IRS, but IRS wouldn't provide information?
When the primary contributor on the FAFSA is the spouse listed on the IRS tax return the tax information will not transfer. Try to invite the parent contributors in the order they are listed on the 2023 IRS form 1040. Fraud or identity theft are also reasons the IRS did not provide tax information to the applicant or the contributor. If the contributor has been flagged by the IRS, possibly due to identity theft or a breach of information, then the IRS response code will be IRS unable to provide information. 

If a parent does not want to or refuses to create an FSA ID, is there an alternative for that parent to provide consent, such as mailing a wet signed consent page?  
There is no longer a separate signature page. If a parent refuses to create an FSA ID then the FAFSA will need to be completed via the paper application and contain wet signatures from all contributors, including the parents, who affirm their consent. The application will then need to be mailed to Federal Student Aid processors. This method is not recommended due to complexity and increased processing time.

Aid Estimator (studentaid.gov/aid-estimator)

2025-26 FAFSA Launch Announcement (https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/fafsa-support)

FAFSA Simplification (https://studentaid.gov/help-center/answers/article/fafsa-simplification-act)

FAFSA Simplification Fact Sheet (English, Spanish)