Can I include my 2-year-old on FAFSA as a dependent even with low income?
I'm filling out my FAFSA as an independent student and I'm confused about household size. I have a 2-year-old daughter who lives with me 100% of the time (she sleeps at my place every night), and I claim her on my taxes. But here's where I'm stuck - I only made about $8,000 last year, so technically I don't provide more than half of her financial support (we receive WIC, SNAP, and some help from my parents). Her other parent doesn't contribute financially or have custody. Does she still count in my household size on the FAFSA? Will this help my aid eligibility or hurt it? The FAFSA instructions are so confusing on this point!
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Andre Dupont
i think if u claim her on taxes shes ur dependent lol. thats what matters
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Carmen Sanchez
•That's what I thought too but the FAFSA language says something about providing more than half of financial support, which is confusing me since my income is so low.
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Zoe Papadakis
For FAFSA purposes, your daughter absolutely counts in your household size since you have primary physical custody (she lives with you full-time). The financial support test is often misunderstood. Government benefits like SNAP and WIC that you receive FOR your daughter count as support that YOU provide. Your parents' help might complicate things, but since you claim her on your taxes, that's strong evidence she's your dependent. Including her will likely HELP your aid eligibility by increasing your household size relative to income. Make sure to count her when they ask about number of household members who will be in college (as 0 since she's only 2).
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Carmen Sanchez
•Thank you SO much! That makes a lot more sense. I didn't realize that the benefits I receive for her count as support that I provide. That changes everything.
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ThunderBolt7
my siuation was kind of simillar... i had my son living with me but maded less than 10k and got confussed too. the financial aid office at my community collge told me if the kid lives with you more than 50% of the time and you claim them on taxes they COUNT for fafsa household size. your gonna get more aid with her counted so defintly include her!!
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Carmen Sanchez
•That's a relief to hear. Did they ask you for any extra documentation to prove she lives with you?
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ThunderBolt7
•nope they didnt ask me for nothing. just put it on the form and it went through fine
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Jamal Edwards
I'm a single mom too and was in a similar situation last year. The FAFSA rules say you should include your daughter in your household size. But be prepared - they might select you for verification and ask for extra documentation. When this happened to me, I had to provide my tax return showing I claimed my son, plus a letter explaining our living situation. It was SUCH a hassle and delayed my financial aid by almost 2 months!
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Carmen Sanchez
•Oh no, that sounds stressful! What kind of documentation did they ask for to prove your living situation? I'm worried because everything is informal with my daughter's other parent.
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Jamal Edwards
•They asked for my tax return, benefit letters from SNAP, and a signed statement explaining our living arrangement. I also included a letter from my son's daycare confirming I was the primary contact. Honestly, the verification process was a nightmare - I kept calling the Federal Student Aid number and couldn't get through. Busy signals for WEEKS.
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Mei Chen
•I had the same issue with the Federal Student Aid hotline during verification last semester. After getting disconnected six times, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that holds your place in line and calls you back when an agent is available. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. Completely changed my FAFSA experience - actually got to speak to someone who explained exactly what documentation I needed for my household verification.
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Liam O'Sullivan
The financial aid system is DESIGNED to confuse people like us!!! I went through this exact thing and got selected for verification because they didn't believe my daughter was actually my dependent since I get assistance. Had to jump through RIDICULOUS hoops to prove she lived with me. Meanwhile rich kids sail through the process without questions!! The whole system is broken and assumes traditional family structures. Good luck and START COLLECTING DOCUMENTATION NOW just in case!!!
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Carmen Sanchez
•That's what I'm afraid of. I feel like I'm being punished for being honest about my situation. What kind of documentation worked for you?
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Liam O'Sullivan
•I had to provide: tax returns, benefit award letters, a notarized statement from my landlord confirming my daughter lived with me, childcare receipts, and medical records showing I was the parent bringing her to appointments. It was invasive and humiliating. And it delayed my aid by 10 weeks! I almost had to drop out while waiting.
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Zoe Papadakis
To clarify some confusion in this thread: For 2025-2026 FAFSA purposes, your situation falls under the "special case" rules. Since you have 100% physical custody and claim your daughter on taxes, she is automatically considered your dependent for FAFSA purposes regardless of the financial support test. This is specifically addressed in the FSA Handbook section on household size for independent students. Government benefits received for the child (SNAP, WIC, etc.) actually count as support YOU provide. So you're absolutely correct to include her in your household size, and doing so will help your SAI calculation significantly.
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Carmen Sanchez
•Thank you for explaining it so clearly! That makes me feel much better. Do you know if I need to do anything special when entering her information, or just include her in the household size number?
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Zoe Papadakis
•You'll just include her in your household size number when asked. The new FAFSA form is actually clearer about this than previous versions. There's a specific question about 'dependents who receive more than half their support from you' - and for the reasons I explained, your daughter qualifies. If selected for verification later, you'd primarily need to show she lives with you (custody agreement, school/daycare records listing you as guardian, medical records, etc.) and your tax return showing you claimed her.
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Amara Okonkwo
I was in this same situation!!! my daughter was 3 when i went back to school and i only made like $12k but she lived with me full time. I DID include her in my household size and i got way more financial aid bc of it (full pell grant + state grants). i think they look at household size vs income so having her counted helped me qualify for more. never got any questions about it either
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