This is actually an important strategic decision that could significantly impact your daughter's aid package. If your future spouse has substantial income or assets, submitting before your marriage could result in more aid eligibility. Here's what the FAFSA documentation states: "Report your marital status as of today (the day you submit your FAFSA form). If your marital status changes after you submit your FAFSA form, check with the financial aid office at the school you plan to attend." Some additional considerations: 1. If your daughter will apply to private schools requiring the CSS Profile, their methodology may differ 2. If your income will substantially change in 2024 compared to 2023, you might need to request a professional judgment review anyway 3. Some schools have institutional methodologies that might consider your upcoming marriage regardless of when you submit

i think the fafsa is using 2023 tax info for the 2025-2026 year right? thats what my kids counselor said. so confused with all these changes

THE WHOLE FAFSA SYSTEM IS BROKEN!!!! My daughter's application got stuck in verification for FIVE MONTHS last year because her dad doesn't file taxes either (independent contractor). Meanwhile her friends whose parents make twice as much but have "normal jobs" with W-2s got their aid packages right away. It's like they PUNISH families that don't fit in their neat little boxes. And good luck getting ANY help from FSA - it's like they WANT us to fail!!!!

Update: My ex got the Verification of Non-filing Letter from the IRS! It only took about two weeks. He's also put together a signed statement about his cash income with as much detail as possible. My son's school financial aid office actually gave us a template to use for the income statement which was super helpful. Feeling much better about this whole process now. Thanks again everyone for your advice!

One important clarification: This is actually not a FAFSA issue directly, but rather a tax filing sequence issue. The FAFSA uses tax information, but it doesn't create conflicts with the IRS filing system itself. For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, your daughter's dependency status for financial aid purposes is determined by specific FAFSA criteria (age, marital status, degree level, etc.), which are different from IRS tax dependency rules. The issue you're experiencing is purely on the tax side - the IRS system is flagging contradictory information between your return and your daughter's. The quickest solution is having your daughter file Form 1040-X checking the box that she can be claimed as a dependent. This won't require you to refile your FAFSA.

dont forget this stuff can affect ur daughters SAI score on FAFSA 2! make sure whatever u report to IRS matches wut u put on FAFSA or they might flag u for verification which is a WHOLE other headache!!!

This is definitely a display issue with the parent/contributor portal that the Department of Education is aware of. The SAI (Student Aid Index) calculations are being correctly applied for 2024-2025 even when the display shows 2023-2024 in some areas. I recommend these steps to ensure you're submitting for the correct year: 1. Check that your student initiated a 2024-2025 FAFSA application (they should confirm this on their end) 2. When you complete your contributor section, the thank you/confirmation page will usually display the correct year 3. Have your student check their SAI calculation once you've completed your section If you do find yourself in a situation where the wrong year was processed, you can submit a correction after the fact, but this will delay the SAI calculation and potentially impact priority deadlines.

Actualización: ¡Logré resolverlo! Después de todos sus consejos, decidí intentar una cosa más antes de llamar. Borré todas las cookies y caché de mi navegador, y luego accedí a la cuenta de mi hijo primero (no directamente a mi sección de contribuyente). Desde su cuenta, usé el enlace para invitar al padre contribuyente, me envié una nueva invitación a mí misma, y esta vez cuando accedí a través del nuevo enlace, ¡todo mostraba correctamente 2024-2025! Parece que había algún problema con mi sesión anterior o con cómo accedí inicialmente. Gracias a todos por su ayuda.

Just to clarify something important: The new Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation will likely change after you correct the dependency status. Independent students generally qualify for more aid than dependent students (unless the parents have very low income). So be prepared that your daughter's aid eligibility might decrease after correction. It's still important to submit accurate information though - incorrect FAFSA data can lead to verification headaches later.

That's a good point - thank you. We have relatively low income so hopefully the change won't be too dramatic. I just want to make sure we do everything correctly.