Do I have to share my SSN with stepson for FAFSA after filing jointly with new wife?

yup ur stuck. if u married ur wife and filed jointly ur income counts for the FAFSA. its dumb but thats how it works

The situation is a bit nuanced. Since you're married to the student's parent and filed taxes jointly, your income information does need to be included on the FAFSA application. However, your stepson doesn't need direct access to your SSN. When your wife fills out the FAFSA as a parent, she'll need to provide the tax information from your joint return, but you can help her complete this section without giving your stepson access to your personal identifying information. The FAFSA requires the parent (your wife) to create her own FSA ID to input this information. Your stepson won't see the actual tax forms or your SSN if you handle it properly.

I went through something similar with my stepkids last year! It was super frustrating. Yes, your income counts on the FAFSA if you filed jointly, but NO your stepson shouldn't need direct access to your SSN. My wife created her own FSA ID and she entered all our tax info herself. The kids never saw our actual tax forms or my personal info. Just have your wife handle the parent portion!

The financial aid system is DESIGNED to be invasive!!! It's ridiculous how much personal information they demand from families. When I was filling out FAFSA for my kids, they wanted to know EVERYTHING about our finances - including retirement accounts that shouldn't even matter for college!!! And now that you're married, they get to count ALL your income even though you have no legal obligation to pay for your stepson's education. The whole system is BROKEN!!!

To clarify some technical points about the 2025-2026 FAFSA and your situation: 1. Since you're married to the student's parent and filed jointly, your income will be counted in the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation. 2. However, there's a proper process to protect your privacy: - Your wife should create her own FSA ID (separate from her son's) - She completes the parent portion of the FAFSA - She can use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to automatically import tax information without manually typing in SSNs - Your stepson never needs direct access to your SSN 3. Your information is required because FAFSA counts household income, but the process is designed so that parents enter their own sensitive data - not the student.

Yes, that's exactly how it works. Your stepson creates his FSA ID and starts the FAFSA application, completing his student information. When he reaches the parent section, your wife logs in with her separate FSA ID to complete all the financial information. The system is designed to maintain privacy between the student and parent portions of the application.

I just went through this with my stepdaughter and lemme tell you it was a NIGHTMARE trying to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid when we had questions!!! We kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally I found this service called Claimyr at claimyr.com that got us through to an actual person at FSA in 10 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They've got a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Totally worth it because the agent walked us through exactly how to handle the parent section properly without sharing my husband's SSN directly with my stepdaughter. Made the whole process way less stressful!

I'm in the exact same situation! Married my husband last year and his daughter needs to apply for FAFSA. I'm so stressed about giving her my financial information. What if we don't want to contribute to her education at all? Will we be forced to pay something because our income is being counted? I don't mind her getting grants or whatever she qualifies for, but I don't want to be on the hook for anything. Will I be legally obligated to pay for her college because our incomes are being combined on FAFSA? I'm freaking out about this!

One important clarification - your stepson should never physically handle your tax return. When people talk about "providing tax info for FAFSA," they're referring to the actual FAFSA filing process where the parent (your wife) inputs financial information, not giving physical tax documents to the student. The proper procedure is: 1. Your stepson creates his FSA ID and starts his application 2. Your wife creates her own FSA ID 3. When the application reaches the parent section, your wife logs in and enters the information 4. Your stepson never sees the sensitive details If done correctly, your privacy should be maintained while still fulfilling the FAFSA requirements.

my parents wouldnt give me their tax info for fafsa and i couldnt get financial aid. sucked big time. dont be that parent.

something nobody mentioned - the new FAFSA for 2025-2026 is way different from previous years. they changed a lot of stuff and now use something called the SAI instead of EFC. plus there's different rules about which parents need to provide info depending on if they're married or divorced. maybe double check the new requirements?