Did I incorrectly report a 529 plan on FAFSA? Can I fix this after my son submitted his portion?

You've made a common mistake, but it's definitely fixable! A 529 plan should be reported as a PARENT asset, not a student asset, when the parent is the account owner (which you are). Assets are reported based on who owns them, not who will benefit from them. Here's why this matters: student assets are assessed at 20% in the SAI calculation, while parent assets are assessed at a maximum of 5.64%. So having $43,000 incorrectly listed as your son's asset could increase his SAI by thousands of dollars. The good news is that when you complete your parent/contributor section, you should include the 529 plan in YOUR assets. The system will recognize this discrepancy and will generally use the parent section information as the final determination. After both portions are submitted, you can also contact the financial aid office directly to explain the error.

i think it depends on who can actually withdraw the money?? my brother had same issue and financial aid office told him student is supposed to report it if they can take money out themselves

Oh geez I did the EXACT SAME THING last year with my daughter's FAFSA!!!!! I reported our 529 as her asset and it completely WRECKED her financial aid package. Her SAI went up by like $8,000 because of that one mistake!! Student assets are counted at a WAY higher percentage than parent assets. We had to go through a whole correction process after we realized the mistake. It was such a nightmare dealing with the financial aid office and we nearly missed deadlines for scholarships while waiting for the corrected SAI. Don't make our mistake - definitely report it properly in your section and then immediately contact Federal Student Aid to explain the error.

ive been trying to get through to someone at FSA for 2 weeks about a similar issue. keep getting disconnected after waiting on hold for 45+ minutes. this system is absolutely BROKEN. they expect us to fill everything out perfectly but then make it impossible to actually talk to someone when we have questions. absolutely ridiculous and im about ready to give up on the whole financial aid process altogether.

The official FSA guidance is very clear on this: 529 plans owned by parents are reported as parental assets on the FAFSA. The good news is that the FAFSA has built-in conflict resolution for exactly this scenario. When you complete your parent section, include the 529 in your assets. Once both portions are submitted, the system will run conflict checks. If there's a serious discrepancy (like the same asset reported twice), they'll likely flag the application for verification. If that happens, you'll receive instructions to submit documentation proving account ownership. Prepare your most recent 529 statement showing you as account owner and your son as beneficiary. This mistake happens frequently enough that aid administrators are familiar with resolving it. For reference, parent assets above the protection allowance (which varies by family size and age) are assessed at rates up to 5.64%, while student assets are assessed at 20% - a significant difference that could affect your son's aid package by thousands.

wait im confused. if the 529 is for the student why isnt it the students asset? this doesnt make sense to me. the money is literally FOR the student!!

Update: I called my financial advisor today to double-check, and she confirmed what everyone here said - the 529 should definitely be reported as MY asset since I'm the account owner. She mentioned that this is one of the most common mistakes families make on the FAFSA. I'll be completing my parent portion this weekend and will include the 529 in my assets section. Then I'll follow up with both the Federal Student Aid office and my son's prospective colleges to make sure they're aware of the correction. Thank you all for the help! This community saved us from what could have been a costly mistake.

Great to hear you're getting this sorted out! Just wanted to add one more tip - when you complete your parent section and include the 529, make sure to also remove any reference to it from your son's section if the system allows edits, or note the correction in any "additional information" fields. Also, since you mentioned contacting prospective colleges, I'd recommend doing this sooner rather than later if any of them have early financial aid deadlines. Some schools process aid packages on a rolling basis, so getting the correction in early could help ensure your son gets considered for the maximum aid available. You're absolutely doing the right thing by addressing this quickly. The difference between 20% assessment (student asset) and up to 5.64% assessment (parent asset) on $43,000 could mean thousands more in available aid for your son!