Confused about tax form inputs on 2025-2026 FAFSA - negative SAI doesn't make sense

The redesigned FAFSA works differently now. Parents don't directly enter tax information anymore - instead, you authorize the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to automatically transfer your tax information from the IRS to your FAFSA application. Did you complete the consent section allowing FAFSA to access your tax records? Regarding your negative SAI - that's actually good news! A negative SAI means your family demonstrates significant financial need. The lower (or more negative) your SAI, the more aid you may qualify for. With a household income of $58k and multiple dependents, a negative SAI is completely normal and will likely qualify your daughter for substantial need-based aid including potentially the full Pell Grant.

Hey there - I just went through this last week. There definitely IS a part where you authorize the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, but it's easy to miss because it's not labeled as a "tax form input" section. It's actually under the "Financial Information" section where you first select if you filed taxes, then it asks you to authorize access to your tax records. If you somehow skipped that, you might want to go back and check your application status. If it shows "Processing" or "Complete" then the system likely got your info successfully. If it shows "Action Required" you probably need to go back and complete that section. And yes, negative SAI is actually GREAT news! My family got a -$1,500 SAI and my son qualified for full Pell Grant plus additional institutional aid.

THE WHOLE NEW SYSTEM IS TRASH!!!!! I spent 3 HOURS trying to find where to upload my tax forms before realizing there IS NO PLACE TO UPLOAD THEM!!! Why would they redesign something to be MORE CONFUSING?? And don't get me started on the website crashes and errors. Had to restart my application TWICE because of their garbage system. And btw, my daughter's SAI came back negative too (-$3,200) and we make $72k/year. So your negative number is probably right. Only good thing about this disaster of a process.

When I was doing my FAFSA I had the same confusion! I eventually realized that the system just pulls your tax data automatically now, rather than having you input all the W-2 information manually like before. I think this is supposed to make things easier but it's just confusing if you're used to the old system. As for the negative SAI - yeah that's actually good! My son got a -$4500 SAI and he qualified for a ton of aid. Negative just means you have high financial need according to their formula.

I had to call the Federal Student Aid hotline about this exact same issue!! Spent 3 days trying to get through to someone. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual person at FSA in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent explained that I didn't miss anything - the new FAFSA doesn't have manual tax form inputs anymore. Instead it uses the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to pull your tax info automatically. And they confirmed negative SAI is actually good! It means your estimated family contribution is zero and you likely qualify for maximum aid.

Just to clarify a few things about the new FAFSA process: 1. The 2025-2026 FAFSA uses 2023 tax year information (which is retrieved automatically through the IRS Data Retrieval Tool if you consented) 2. A negative SAI is completely normal and beneficial. The formula now produces more negative SAIs than before, especially for lower and middle-income families. This is by design. 3. For reference, a family of 4 with $58,000 income would likely have a negative SAI in the -$1500 to -$4000 range depending on assets and other factors. 4. With a negative SAI, your daughter will likely qualify for the maximum Pell Grant ($7,395 for 2024-2025) as well as significant institutional aid at many colleges. If your application status shows complete, you're good to go. The colleges will receive this information and use it to prepare your daughter's financial aid package.

does anyone know if we will get more money with negative sai than we would have with the old efc system??? my brothers sai was like -1200 and mine is -3400 but we have same parents lol

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Reading through all these responses has been so reassuring. I was panicking thinking I somehow skipped entering our tax information, but it sounds like the automatic IRS data retrieval is supposed to handle that. My daughter's SAI came back as -$2,100 and I was worried something was wrong with the calculation. It's frustrating how different this new system is from the old FAFSA - I wish they had better explanations or tutorials walking parents through what to expect. At least now I know our negative SAI is actually good news for financial aid eligibility! Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences.