Just want to add another confirmation - it's definitely ONLY federal income tax! I made this same mistake on my first attempt and had to correct it. The key is looking at Form 1040 line 24 (or whatever line shows "Tax" on your specific tax year's form). State taxes, local taxes, FICA taxes - none of those count for the FAFSA income tax paid question. The federal government only cares about what you paid to them, not to your state. Good luck finishing up your application!

Just wanted to jump in as someone who's been through this process multiple times (older sibling helped me figure it out). Everyone here is absolutely correct - it's ONLY federal income tax from line 24 of your Form 1040. I learned this the hard way when I included state taxes on my first FAFSA and my Expected Family Contribution came out way higher than it should have been. Had to submit a correction which delayed everything by weeks. The wording on the FAFSA really should be clearer about this! But yeah, stick to just the federal amount and you'll be good to go. Hope this helps ease some of the stress!

I'm so glad I found this thread! I just submitted my FAFSA yesterday and was having a complete meltdown when I couldn't find the print option anywhere. Reading through everyone's experiences has been such a relief - I thought I was going crazy or had done something wrong during submission. It sounds like the key things are: 1) wait 72 hours for the SAR to be processed, 2) try Firefox instead of Chrome, 3) disable ad blockers, and 4) look for "View Student Aid Report" not just "View Application." I'm definitely going to try switching browsers first since I'm using Chrome with uBlock Origin. @NeonNova thanks for the reassurance about schools being understanding with the technical issues! I was panicking about my deadline but knowing that the confirmation number might be sufficient temporarily really helps. I'll call my school's financial aid office tomorrow to double-check what they actually need. This whole new FAFSA system is such a mess but at least we're all figuring it out together. Will update if the browser switch works for me!

Just wanted to add my experience as another data point for anyone still struggling with this! I submitted my FAFSA on Monday and initially couldn't find the print option anywhere. After reading this thread, I tried switching from Chrome to Firefox and disabling my ad blocker (Privacy Badger), but still no luck. However, this morning (exactly 72 hours later as others mentioned) the "View Student Aid Report" option finally appeared on my dashboard! The print icon was right where everyone said it would be - small printer symbol in the top right corner. The SAR document that generated had all my application details plus my SAI, which is exactly what my school requested. For anyone new to this thread: be patient and wait the full 72 hours for processing, try a different browser, and don't panic about deadlines - most schools are being flexible with the technical issues. This new system is definitely frustrating but it does work eventually! Thanks to everyone who shared their solutions, especially @NeonNova for the financial aid office perspective and @Javier Mendoza for explaining the different document types. This community really saved my sanity! 🙏

I'm so sorry for your loss, Diego. What a difficult situation to navigate while you're still grieving. I haven't been through this personally, but I wanted to thank everyone who has shared their experiences here - this thread is incredibly valuable for families facing similar circumstances. The advice about answering "No" to the married question and then selecting "widowed" later seems consistent across everyone's experiences. One small thing I'd add - since you mentioned your husband passed in October 2023, you might want to double-check if any of his employer benefits (like health insurance premiums) continued to be deducted from your accounts after his passing. Sometimes there are refunds or adjustments that could affect your income reporting. You're doing an amazing job advocating for your daughter's future during such a challenging time. This community really shows how people can support each other through these complex processes.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Diego. I can't imagine how difficult this must be while you're still processing your grief and trying to take care of your daughter's future. I'm a financial aid administrator at a community college, and I see this situation more often than you might think. Everyone here has given you absolutely correct advice - answer "No" to the "parents married to each other" question, then you'll be able to select "widowed" when asked about your specific marital status later in the form. One thing I'd add that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet: if you received any Social Security survivor benefits for yourself or your daughter in 2023, make sure to report those correctly. Survivor benefits for your daughter typically don't count as your income, but survivor benefits paid to you as the widow would need to be reported in the untaxed income section. Also, don't worry if the form seems to ask some questions that don't quite fit your situation - the FAFSA wasn't really designed with widowed parents in mind, unfortunately. If you get stuck on any question, you can always call your daughter's school's financial aid office. We deal with these situations regularly and are used to walking parents through the confusing parts. You're doing such a good job looking out for your daughter during this incredibly difficult time. Take it one section at a time, and don't hesitate to take breaks when you need them.

Make sure she actually submits it NOW for the 2024-2025 year! My son's friend thought he could wait until closer to his January start date and ended up missing out on a ton of departmental scholarships because those have earlier deadlines even though the FAFSA itself can be submitted later. The whole system is RIDICULOUS honestly.

Hi there! I went through this exact same situation last year with my daughter. She started her master's program in January 2024, and I was equally confused about the timing. Here's what I learned: Yes, she absolutely should submit the 2024-2025 FAFSA RIGHT NOW for Spring 2025 enrollment. Don't wait - I made that mistake initially and almost cost my daughter some funding opportunities. One thing that really helped us was creating a simple timeline: - Submit 2024-2025 FAFSA immediately (covers Spring 2025) - December 2024: Submit 2025-2026 FAFSA when it opens (covers Fall 2025 and beyond) Also, have her list ALL the grad schools she's applied to on the FAFSA - you can always remove schools later if she doesn't get accepted, but you can't go back in time if you miss a school's internal deadlines. The independent student status for grad school was actually a pleasant surprise - much simpler than when we were factoring in our family income for her undergrad applications. Good luck with the process!

I'm new to this community and this thread has been such a lifesaver! I've been dealing with this exact same "information doesn't match" error for the past few days and was getting so frustrated. After reading through all these solutions, I'm now pretty confident my mom has an old FSA ID from when she helped my older brother with his FAFSA about 4 years ago - we completely forgot about that possibility! It's amazing how this one overlooked detail can cause so much stress when you think you're entering everything correctly. I'm going to have her try the account recovery process tonight using any old email addresses she might have used back then. This community is incredible for providing real, actionable solutions instead of just generic troubleshooting advice. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences - you've given me hope that this nightmare will actually be solvable!

I'm new to this community and just wanted to say how incredibly helpful this thread has been! I'm currently stuck on this exact same error with my parent invitation and was starting to panic about my deadline. After reading through all these solutions, I'm pretty sure my dad has an old FSA ID from when he helped my older brother about 3 years ago - we completely forgot that was even a possibility! It's so frustrating how the system just says "information doesn't match" without giving you any clue about what's actually wrong. I'm going to have him try the account recovery process tomorrow morning before we attempt anything else. This community is amazing for providing real solutions that actually work instead of just the generic "clear your cache" advice you get everywhere else. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences - you've turned what felt like an impossible situation into something totally manageable!