Can parents complete FAFSA before student section is done? Married filing separately concerns

Yes, the student MUST complete their section first before parents can access the FAFSA. That's just how the system is designed. The student creates the FAFSA ID and initiates the application, then adds parent information which generates an email invitation for the parent to complete their section. The student portion can take anywhere from 20-45 minutes depending on how prepared they are. They'll need their personal info, social security number, basic income info (if they worked), and driver's license number if they have one. Regarding married filing separately - yes, this still creates additional verification requirements under the new FAFSA. Both parents' tax returns are needed even if filing separately. The system now calculates a Student Aid Index (SAI) rather than an EFC, and it still considers both parents' incomes regardless of filing status.

My son did his part in like 15min lol. Tell ur daughter it's super fast now with the new system!!! They took out so many questions. She just needs her SSN and basic info. Nothing complicated for the student part anymore.

the married filing separately thing is a HUGE pain!!! we did this last year too and got flagged for verification which delayed our daughters aid package by 2 months!! some schools wanted copies of BOTH tax returns even tho my ex and i file totally separately. make sure you have both ready to upload if they ask

To add some clarification on the Married Filing Separately issue - under the new FAFSA for 2025-26, both parents' information is still required if they're married regardless of tax filing status. The good news is that the direct data transfer from the IRS can now accommodate MFS situations better than before. However, some important points for MFS filers: 1. Both parents will need FSA IDs to complete their sections 2. Both parents must provide consent for IRS data retrieval 3. Some institutions may still request additional verification 4. MFS can sometimes result in less favorable SAI calculations than MFJ And yes, the student MUST complete their portion first before any parent can access the form. That's a fixed workflow in the system.

Yes, each parent needs their own FSA ID now - this is a significant change from previous years. The system now treats each contributing parent as a separate entity for authentication purposes, even if you're married. This actually helps with the MFS situation because each parent can directly link to their own tax return. The IRS data transfer should work much better with MFS this year. Each parent uses their own FSA ID to authorize their own tax data transfer, which eliminates most of the manual entry. The system then combines the information appropriately in calculating the SAI. I'd recommend both you and your husband create/verify your FSA IDs now, even before your daughter completes her section. That way you're ready to go immediately when she finishes.

I was literally struggling with this exact situation last week! My son kept putting off his part and I was getting so anxious about missing priority deadlines. After trying everything, I finally had to say we wouldn't pay for his spring break trip unless he sat down and did it right then. I had to call Federal Student Aid to ask some questions about our MFS status, and it took FOREVER to get through to an actual human. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that held my place in line and called me back when an agent was available. Saved me hours of waiting on hold. They have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Regarding your question - the agent confirmed that MFS filers now need both parents to create separate FSA IDs and each authorize their own tax information. It's actually more streamlined than last year's process.

Yes, it worked perfectly! I was skeptical too but I was desperate after being on hold for over an hour and getting disconnected twice. The service kept my place in line and called me when an agent was available. Totally worth it for me because I needed to sort out some complicated questions about our tax situation that weren't covered in the online help. The agent I spoke with was actually really helpful once I finally got through.

My daughter waited till literally the LAST DAY of priority deadline to do her part last year and I was SO MAD!!! But tbh her section only took like 20 minutes since she didn't have any income or assets to report. And yes the married filing separate thing is annoying... we have to do it for specific tax reasons but the FAFSA system seems to hate it lol

One more thing to mention - make sure both you and your husband have access to all the verification documents that might be requested if you get selected for verification (which is more common with MFS status): - Tax returns for both parents - W-2s for both parents - Any business income documentation if applicable - Asset information (bank statements, investment accounts) - Any untaxed income documentation Having these ready will save you a lot of time if verification is requested. And yes, unfortunately the student must complete their section first - there's no way around that requirement.