Do I need to report a vacant lot as parent asset on FAFSA if we don't earn income from it?

Yes, you absolutely need to report that vacant lot. The FAFSA considers all real estate other than your primary residence as an investment asset, regardless of whether it generates income. The fact that you have an assessment showing $73,000 in value makes it even clearer - that's the figure you should report. Remember, FAFSA is looking at your assets, not just your income.

my cousins family had same thing but with farm land they inherited. they reported it and still got decent aid package. dont stress 2 much

FAFSA IS A COMPLETE JOKE when it comes to assessing REAL assets vs paper assets!!!! We own 2 acres of completely UNUSABLE wetlands that we can't build on, sell, or do ANYTHING with but pay taxes, and they counted it as $125K against us!!! Meanwhile, people with fancy retirement accounts get all kinds of sheltering. The whole system is RIGGED against middle class families who happen to own land instead of stocks!!!

Financial aid professional here. Yes, you must report the vacant lot as a parent investment asset on the FAFSA. The key distinction is that it's not your primary residence. The Federal Student Aid definition for investment assets includes "real estate (other than the home you live in)." But here's what might help - parent assets are assessed at a maximum rate of 5.64% in the SAI formula. So a $73,000 asset would only increase your SAI by approximately $4,117 at most. Depending on your overall financial situation, this may not dramatically impact your student's aid eligibility, especially if your income is the dominant factor in your calculation.

When I was filling out FAFSA last year I spent TWO WEEKS trying to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid to ask about our lake property that we only use for family gatherings. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual FSA representative in less than 30 minutes. The rep confirmed that yes, we had to report it, but explained exactly how to do it correctly. They have a video demo on how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. Saved me so much frustration trying to interpret the instructions on my own.

Just wondering - could you potentially look into legally separating the lot from your primary residence somehow? I know someone who had their property rezoned or something and it helped with their FAFSA situation. Not saying it would work in your case but might be worth looking into if it's going to significantly impact your aid?

my dad always said just sell stuff before filing fafsa lol

One thing I learned going through this process is to make sure your borough assessment is accurate. In some areas, tax assessments can be significantly lower than market value, while in others they might be inflated. You might want to compare the assessment with comparable vacant lots in your area. If the assessment seems high, you could potentially appeal it, which would not only reduce your property taxes but also lower the value reported on FAFSA.

I went through this exact same situation last year! We have a small vacant lot that we bought years ago thinking we might build on someday but never did. I was so confused about whether to report it too. After reading through all the FAFSA guidance and talking to our school's financial aid office, I can confirm what others have said - yes, you do need to report it as an investment asset. The good news is that based on what the financial aid professional explained about the 5.64% assessment rate, it shouldn't completely destroy your aid eligibility. My advice is to be completely honest and accurate - the potential consequences of not reporting it far outweigh the impact on your SAI calculation. Good luck with your FAFSA!

I'm dealing with something similar - we have a small parcel of land that came with our house purchase that we've never done anything with except pay taxes on. Reading through all these responses has been super helpful, especially the breakdown from the financial aid professional about the 5.64% assessment rate. I was panicking thinking this would completely kill our aid chances, but now I understand it's really about being honest and that the impact might not be as devastating as I feared. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's so helpful to know we're not alone in dealing with these confusing asset reporting situations!

I'm a newcomer here but dealing with the exact same situation! We inherited a small piece of undeveloped land from my husband's grandmother that we literally can't even access without going through a neighbor's property. It generates zero income and costs us about $800/year in property taxes. After reading through all these responses, especially the detailed explanation about the 5.64% assessment rate, I feel much more confident about reporting it accurately on our FAFSA. It's frustrating that these kinds of "assets" get counted the same way as actual investments, but I'd rather be honest than risk the consequences of not reporting it. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it really helps to know so many families are navigating these same confusing situations!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community but found this thread incredibly helpful as I'm dealing with a similar situation. My family owns a small vacant lot that we purchased years ago as a potential building site but never developed. Reading through all the responses, especially the detailed explanation from the financial aid professional about the 5.64% assessment rate, has really helped me understand that while we do need to report it as an investment asset, the actual impact on our SAI might not be as catastrophic as I initially feared. It's reassuring to see so many families navigating these same confusing asset reporting situations. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it makes the FAFSA process feel much less overwhelming when you realize you're not alone in dealing with these tricky property ownership questions!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community but dealing with a very similar situation. My family owns a small strip of land between our house and a creek that we bought mainly to prevent development there. It's completely unusable for anything except wildlife habitat, but we still pay property taxes on it every year. After reading through all these responses, especially the detailed breakdown from the financial aid professional about the 5.64% assessment rate, I feel much more confident about reporting it accurately on our FAFSA. It's frustrating that these "paper assets" that don't generate any income get treated the same as actual investments, but I'd rather be honest than risk the consequences of misreporting. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's so helpful to know that so many families are navigating these same confusing asset reporting situations!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and currently dealing with a very similar situation. My family owns a small vacant lot adjacent to our home that we purchased primarily as a buffer zone for privacy. Like many of you, we don't generate any income from it - just pay the annual property taxes. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful, especially the detailed explanation from the financial aid professional about the 5.64% assessment rate. I was initially panicking thinking this would completely disqualify us from financial aid, but understanding that a $73,000 asset would only add about $4,100 to the SAI at most really puts it in perspective. It's still frustrating that non-income producing land gets treated the same as actual investments, but I'd rather report it accurately than risk the consequences of misrepresentation. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it's so reassuring to know that many families are navigating these same confusing asset reporting situations!

Hi everyone! I'm new to this community and dealing with almost the exact same situation. My family owns a small wooded lot behind our house that we bought years ago mainly to keep it from being developed. We don't make any money from it - just pay about $600 in property taxes each year. After reading through all these responses, especially the breakdown from the financial aid professional about the 5.64% assessment rate, I feel so much more confident about handling this on our FAFSA. I was initially terrified that having to report this "asset" would completely eliminate our aid eligibility, but understanding that it would only impact our SAI by a few thousand dollars at most really helps put it in perspective. It's definitely frustrating that land we basically bought for peace of mind gets treated the same as actual income-producing investments, but everyone's advice about being completely accurate rather than risking misrepresentation makes total sense. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it's such a relief to know so many families are navigating these same confusing property situations!