Can my son use my income on FAFSA if I don't claim him as a tax dependent?

Your tax dependency status and FAFSA dependency status are completely different things. Your son being claimed as a dependent on your taxes (or not) has zero effect on whether he's considered dependent for FAFSA purposes. For FAFSA, your son needs to answer the dependency questions - is he 24 or older? Married? Veteran? Has dependents of his own? etc. If he answers NO to all those questions, he's a DEPENDENT student for FAFSA even if you don't claim him on taxes. So yes, he still needs your income information on his FAFSA application, regardless of your tax filing choices.

this happens ALL THE TIME! so many parents get confused about this exact thing. i work in my college financial aid office and seriously hear this question at least 10x during fafsa season. tax dependency ≠ fafsa dependency!

My daughter went through this exact situation and it caused us a HUGE headache!!! We didn't claim her on taxes thinking it would make her "independent" for FAFSA and she submitted without my info. Then they flagged her for verification and we had to correct everything and start over!! The whole system is designed to be confusing on purpose I swear. 😤

To add some specifics to what others have said: FAFSA dependency is determined by answering 13 specific questions (for the 2025-2026 FAFSA). If your son answers "no" to all of them, he's dependent for FAFSA purposes and must provide your income information. The questions include age (must be 24+ to be independent), marriage status, military service, having legal dependents, emancipation status, homelessness, and several others. For a 19-year-old without unusual circumstances, he would typically be considered a dependent student regardless of tax filing status. If you're trying to maximize aid, focus on understanding how assets and income are counted in the SAI formula rather than tax dependency status.

I tried calling Federal Student Aid about this exact question last week and waited on hold for 2+ hours before getting disconnected. Then tried again and gave up after 90 minutes. Their website wasn't clear about this specific situation either. So frustrating trying to get straight answers!

my cousins friends daughter tried to leave her parents off fafsa and claim independent but got rejected cuz shes only 20. financial aid office told her only way to be independent under 24 is if ur married, in military, have ur own kids, or parents are dead/abusive (with proof). she had to redo whole application with parents info.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I'll definitely have my son complete the FAFSA with my information included, regardless of our tax situation. We'll also talk to our tax preparer about whether it still makes sense not to claim him given what I've learned about the American Opportunity Tax Credit. I appreciate the clarification about the separate systems for tax dependency vs. FAFSA dependency!