Do I need to update FAFSA after taxes are filed? Manually entered tax info now
Help! I just submitted my 2025-2026 FAFSA application but my parents haven't filed their 2023 taxes yet (they always get extensions). I manually entered the estimated tax info based on their W-2s and 1099s. Once they actually file their taxes in October, do I need to update the FAFSA somehow? Should I send the completed tax returns directly to my school's financial aid office or is there a special way to update this on the studentaid.gov portal? I'm worried about my SAI score changing and losing aid if there are discrepancies between what I estimated and their actual tax numbers.
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Hailey O'Leary
You'll need to submit a FAFSA correction once the taxes are filed. Log into studentaid.gov, select your FAFSA application, and click 'Make FAFSA Corrections.' You can then update the tax information with the actual figures. The system will recalculate your SAI based on the corrected information. I recommend also emailing your school's financial aid office to let them know you've submitted corrections - this helps them flag your file for review when the updated information comes through.
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Marcus Marsh
•Thank you! Will the schools automatically get the updated info once I make the correction on studentaid.gov? Or do I need to send them the tax returns directly too?
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Cedric Chung
my familiy did this last yr and it was a MESS. the correction took foreverrr to process and my aid got delayed by like 3 weeks. just warning u!!
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Marcus Marsh
•Oh no, that's exactly what I'm worried about! Did your aid amount change after the correction?
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Talia Klein
I've been through this exact situation. Make the corrections on studentaid.gov as soon as the taxes are filed. However, schools also usually have a special form for tax updates - check your school's financial aid website for a "Verification Update Form" or "Income Adjustment Form." Different schools handle this differently, so contact each school's financial aid office directly for their specific process. If there's a significant difference between your estimates and the actual tax numbers, you might be selected for verification, which requires additional documentation. Just be prepared for that possibility.
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Maxwell St. Laurent
•this is good advice. we did 3 updates on my brothers fafsa last year lol. but did u know some schools have deadlines for updates?? my brother almost missed getting his pell grant bc the tax update came after some deadline no one told us about!
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PaulineW
I've been trying to update my FAFSA for THREE WEEKS after filing taxes late. Every time I call Federal Student Aid, I get disconnected or wait for 2+ hours. So frustrating! The website kept giving me errors when I tried to make corrections online. I'm about ready to give up on the whole stupid process. My SAI calculation is probably all wrong now and I bet I'll lose my grants because of this technical garbage.
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Annabel Kimball
•Hey, I had similar problems reaching FSA last month and found this service called Claimyr that helped me skip the wait times. Check out their demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - it lets you get a callback from FSA so you don't have to stay on hold. I used their site claimyr.com and got through to an agent who fixed my tax update issue in about 10 minutes. So much easier than waiting on hold for hours.
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PaulineW
•Thanks, I'll check it out! At this point I'll try anything to get this fixed without wasting another afternoon on hold.
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Chris Elmeda
i think it depends on how different the numbers are? we estimated my mom's income on my fafsa and when we filed taxes it was only like $2k different and nothing changed with my aid
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Marcus Marsh
•That's good to know. The estimates should be pretty close, but my dad's small business had some changes this year so I'm not 100% confident in our numbers.
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Hailey O'Leary
Just to clarify something important - for the 2025-2026 FAFSA, you absolutely need to report accurate 2023 tax info, as that's the base tax year they're using for calculations. When your parents' taxes are filed, make the correction on studentaid.gov within 2 weeks to avoid delays. Any significant changes could affect your SAI calculation. Also, once you make the correction, your FAFSA will show 'processing' again for about 3-5 days before the new SAI is calculated. If the schools have already downloaded your data, they won't automatically get the update - you should email each school's financial aid office to alert them to check for your updated FAFSA information.
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Marcus Marsh
•Thank you for the detailed info! I'll definitely email all my schools once I make the correction. What counts as a 'significant' change that would affect my SAI? Would $5,000 difference in income be significant?
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Hailey O'Leary
•A $5,000 difference could definitely impact your SAI, though how much depends on your family's overall financial situation. Generally, for middle-income families, each $10,000 in additional income can increase your SAI by about $1,500-$3,000. But even smaller changes can affect aid if you're close to a threshold for certain types of aid like Pell Grants. Better to make the correction regardless of amount and let the formula do its work.
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Cedric Chung
my cousin said they never updated their fafsa after taxes and nothing bad happened lol
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Talia Klein
•That's extremely risky advice. If selected for verification (and about 30% of FAFSA filers are), providing incorrect information could be considered fraud. Schools can cancel all financial aid and in extreme cases, there can be fines or other penalties. Always provide accurate information - it's not worth the risk.
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Maxwell St. Laurent
this whole fafsa prozess is beyond ridiculous!!! why cant they just make it so you file AFTER taxes are due?? my son lost his entire scholarship bc of a tax update that changed his SAI by like 200 points and pushed him over some stupid threshold. the whole system is designed to confuse ppl i swear
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PaulineW
•EXACTLY! The timing makes absolutely no sense. They want applications in by February but taxes aren't due until April (or later with extensions). It's like they WANT us to make mistakes so they can deny aid. So frustrating!
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Marcus Marsh
Thanks everyone for the advice! I'm going to wait until my parents file their taxes, then immediately make the correction on studentaid.gov AND contact all my schools to let them know. I'll also check each school's financial aid website to see if they have specific forms for tax updates. Hoping the difference isn't too big from what we estimated!
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Hailey O'Leary
•That's the perfect approach. Also, save copies of all tax documents and keep a log of when you submit corrections and who you speak with at each financial aid office. If there are any issues later, having this documentation will help resolve them more quickly.
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Abigail bergen
Great question! I went through this exact same situation last year. Yes, you absolutely should update your FAFSA once your parents file their 2023 taxes. Here's what I learned: Log into studentaid.gov and use the "Make FAFSA Corrections" feature to input the actual tax figures. The system will automatically recalculate your SAI with the real numbers. Also, definitely reach out to each of your schools' financial aid offices proactively - some have their own internal deadlines for tax updates that aren't widely advertised. I'd recommend making the correction within a week of when the taxes are filed to avoid any processing delays that could affect your aid disbursement timing. Keep digital copies of everything in case you need to reference them later!
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Isaac Wright
•This is really helpful advice! I'm new to all this FAFSA stuff and honestly feeling pretty overwhelmed. When you say "within a week of when taxes are filed" - is that because there's an official deadline or just to avoid delays? Also, did your SAI change much when you updated with the actual tax numbers? I'm trying to mentally prepare for whether my aid package might shift significantly.
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