Do both spouses need separate FSA IDs when filing FAFSA jointly?

You don't need 2 separate FAFSAs, just 2 FSA IDs. One FAFSA form but both parents need individual FSA IDs to digitally sign it when filing jointly. My husband and I did this last month.

The other comment is correct. When you file taxes jointly, you still just submit ONE FAFSA application for your student. But both parents need their own FSA ID to digitally sign the form. The form will ask for both parents' financial information from your joint tax return. Make sure both of you use different email addresses for your FSA IDs - that's a common mistake that causes delays.

I swear the FAFSA instructions make everything 10x more complicated than it needs to be. We spent HOURS trying to figure this out for my son last year.

Here's how it works step by step: 1. Both parents create separate FSA IDs (different emails and phone numbers) 2. You complete ONE FAFSA form for your daughter 3. Input income information from your joint tax return 4. Both parents must electronically sign the FAFSA with their FSA IDs The system will ask for the "contributing parent" information first, then ask if there's a second parent. Make sure you have your 2024 tax return handy because they'll ask specific questions from it for verification.

Just to add one important detail - when you create your FSA IDs, write down your username, password AND your challenge questions/answers somewhere safe. My husband forgot his and the recovery process was a nightmare. It delayed our daughter's financial aid package by almost 3 weeks.

I was in the same situation last week and got super frustrated trying to reach someone at Federal Student Aid. After getting disconnected three times, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me get through to an actual person at FSA in under 10 minutes. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent confirmed exactly what others here said - both parents need separate FSA IDs, but you only submit one FAFSA application. She also mentioned that for the 2025-2026 application, they've simplified the parent contribution section, which should make the joint filing info easier to understand.

my husand and i both made fsa ids but then we got confused because the form asks for the "parent who provides more financial support" which seemed weird for us since we file taxes jointly and support our kid equally?? so we just put me as parent 1 since i make slightly more. did we mess up???

UPDATE: Thanks everyone for the help! We both created our FSA IDs (with different emails as suggested) and completed our daughter's FAFSA last night. The form did ask for our joint tax information, and then required both of us to sign at the end. The estimated SAI showed up immediately after submission, which I wasn't expecting - that was helpful. Thanks again for clearing up my confusion!