Do SSDI survivor benefits for my daughter count as her income on FAFSA?

Yes, this gets reported but NOT as her income. Social Security benefits (including survivor benefits) received by a dependent student need to be reported as part of the PARENT'S untaxed income on the FAFSA, not as student income. The exact question is in the parent section under "untaxed income." Don't double-report it on your daughter's section or you'll mess up her SAI calculation.

I went through this exact scenario with my son last year. The previous commenter is WRONG. The Social Security benefits your daughter receives because of your disability ARE reported as the STUDENT'S untaxed income, not the parent's. This is specifically addressed in the FAFSA instructions - untaxed Social Security is reported by the person who receives the payment, regardless of why they're receiving it.

both of them r wrong lol. my sister gets SS benefits and we just did her fafsa. you don't report social security benefits AT ALL on the new fafsa!!! it's not considered income anymore with the new FAFSA simplification. double check but i'm 99% sure

Financial aid advisor here. Let me clear this up: Social Security benefits (including those received by dependents) ARE reported on the FAFSA, but their treatment changed with the 2024-2025 FAFSA simplification. They are now reported in the "Untaxed Income" section of whoever RECEIVES the benefit. Since your daughter receives the payment directly, you report it as HER untaxed income, not yours. This is clearly stated in the new FAFSA instructions under Question 39f for dependent students.

My daughter is on SSDI too and the whole process was a nightmare!!! couldnt get anyone on the phone for WEEKS and the website kept crashing when I tried to fill out that section. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual human at FSA. Their video showed exactly how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ and I got through in about 20 mins instead of waiting forever. The agent confirmed exactly what @financialaidadvisor said - my daughter's benefits go under HER untaxed income section.

@financialaidadvisor Thanks for the correction - you're right and I was mistaken. I was thinking of the old FAFSA rules. The 2024-2025 FAFSA does indeed have the student report their own Social Security benefits as their untaxed income. The whole system is so confusing with all these changes!

Thank you all for the help! I'm going to report it as my daughter's untaxed income as advised. @CollegeMom2023 - I might try that Claimyr service if I run into more questions, thanks for the tip. So frustrating that something this important is so difficult to get right.

Just want to add my experience as someone who went through this last year. My son gets survivor benefits from his father's Social Security, and I made the mistake of not reporting them initially because I thought they didn't count. Got selected for verification and had to go back and correct everything - what a mess! The financial aid office was actually really helpful though and walked me through exactly where to put it on the form. The amount does get counted against him for aid purposes, but honestly it wasn't as bad as I expected. He still qualified for a decent Pell Grant and state aid. Don't stress too much about it hurting her chances - colleges understand that Social Security benefits aren't the same as having a high-paying job. Just make sure you report it correctly from the start to avoid the headache I went through!

I work as a college financial aid counselor and want to emphasize what @GalacticGladiator said about the verification process. If you do get selected for verification (which is random), you'll need your Social Security Administration benefit letter showing the monthly amount your daughter receives. Also, keep in mind that the Student Income Protection Allowance for 2025-2026 is around $7,600, so with $980/month ($11,760 annually), about $4,160 would be assessed at the 50% rate for aid calculations. This might reduce her aid by roughly $2,080, but as others mentioned, she'll likely still qualify for significant federal and state aid. The key is accuracy - report it exactly as it appears on her SSA statements to avoid any issues down the road.

As someone who just went through this process with my own daughter who receives SSDI benefits, I can confirm what the financial aid professionals here have said. The key thing to remember is that Social Security survivor benefits ARE reported on the FAFSA as your daughter's untaxed income, not yours. I was initially confused about this too since the benefits are based on your disability record, but the rule is simple - whoever receives the payment reports it as their income. Make sure you use the exact annual amount from her SSA-1099 or benefit statements when filling out the form. One tip that helped me: when you get to that section on the FAFSA, it specifically asks about "untaxed Social Security benefits" - that's where the survivor benefits go. Don't overthink it! The impact on aid isn't as devastating as it might seem, especially since there's that income protection allowance that shields some of it from the calculation.

I'm new to this community but wanted to share that I'm in a very similar situation with my 16-year-old who receives survivor benefits from her father's Social Security. Reading through this thread has been incredibly helpful - I was completely lost on how to handle this on the FAFSA. Based on what everyone has explained, it sounds like I need to report her benefits as HER untaxed income, not mine, even though they're based on her father's work record. The breakdown about the Student Income Protection Allowance really helps me understand the actual impact on aid eligibility too. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it's so much clearer now than trying to decipher the FSA website on my own!

I'm a financial aid officer at a state university and want to add one important detail that hasn't been mentioned yet. When reporting your daughter's Social Security survivor benefits as her untaxed income on the FAFSA, make sure you're using the correct tax year amounts. For the 2025-2026 FAFSA (which you'll file in 2024), you need to report the benefits she received during the 2023 calendar year, not the current monthly amount. This is a common mistake I see families make. Also, if her benefit amount changed during 2023 (due to cost-of-living adjustments or other factors), make sure to total up the actual amounts received throughout that entire year. The SSA-1099 form she should have received in early 2024 will show the exact total for 2023, which is what you'll need for the FAFSA.

I'm dealing with this exact situation right now! My 17-year-old daughter receives survivor benefits from my late husband's Social Security, and I was so confused about where to report this on her FAFSA. Thank you everyone for clearing this up - it sounds like I need to report it as HER untaxed income, using the 2023 amounts from her SSA-1099. I was initially worried this would completely disqualify her from aid, but hearing that there's an income protection allowance and that other families in similar situations still received decent financial aid packages is really reassuring. The math breakdown showing roughly how much it might impact her aid eligibility is super helpful too. I feel so much more confident about filling out the FAFSA correctly now. This community is amazing - way more helpful than spending hours on hold trying to reach FSA!

This is the answer I just got from Fafsa for people wondering if this applies for other children in the household who may have survivor benefits and you are the representative payee for that child (Younger children

I'm going through this same situation with my 18-year-old who receives survivor benefits from his father's Social Security record. After reading through all these responses, I want to confirm what I learned from calling the financial aid office at his target college directly: yes, the survivor benefits DO get reported as the STUDENT'S untaxed income on the FAFSA, not the parent's income. The financial aid counselor I spoke with emphasized that it doesn't matter WHY the student receives Social Security - what matters is WHO receives it. Since the check comes to my son, it gets reported as his income. She also mentioned that many families worry this will destroy their aid eligibility, but in reality, most students receiving survivor benefits still qualify for substantial federal aid due to the income protection allowance. The key is just making sure you report the correct 2023 amounts from the SSA-1099 form. Hope this helps other families navigating this confusing process!

I'm a newcomer to this community and currently dealing with this exact situation! My 17-year-old son receives survivor benefits from his deceased father's Social Security record (about $850/month), and I've been stressing about the FAFSA for weeks. This entire thread has been a lifesaver - I was completely lost trying to figure out where these benefits should be reported. Based on everything I've read here, it's clear that I need to report his survivor benefits as HIS untaxed income using the 2023 amounts from his SSA-1099 form, not as my income. The breakdown about the Student Income Protection Allowance really helps me understand that this won't completely destroy his aid eligibility like I was worried about. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and expertise - this community is so much more helpful than the confusing FSA website! I feel much more confident about tackling the FAFSA now.

I'm new here but wanted to share my experience since I just went through this exact situation with my daughter who receives survivor benefits. After reading all these helpful responses, I can confirm what everyone is saying - the survivor benefits DO get reported as your daughter's untaxed income on the FAFSA, not yours. I was initially confused about this too since the benefits are based on a parent's work record, but the rule is straightforward: whoever receives the payment reports it as their income. Make sure you use the 2023 amounts from her SSA-1099 form when filling out the 2025-2026 FAFSA. Don't stress too much about the impact on aid - my daughter still qualified for a good financial aid package despite having similar monthly benefits. The Student Income Protection Allowance helps shield some of the benefits from the calculation. The most important thing is accuracy from the start to avoid verification headaches later!

I'm new to this community and currently navigating this exact situation with my 16-year-old daughter who receives survivor benefits from her father's Social Security record. After reading through all these incredibly helpful responses, I finally understand that her benefits need to be reported as HER untaxed income on the FAFSA, using the 2023 amounts from her SSA-1099 form. I was initially panicking that these benefits would completely eliminate her chances for financial aid, but learning about the Student Income Protection Allowance and hearing from other families who still received good aid packages despite similar situations has been so reassuring. This thread has been more helpful than hours of trying to navigate the FSA website or waiting on hold to speak with someone. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and expertise - it's made what seemed like an impossible task feel completely manageable now!