Do both spouses need to complete FAFSA when filing taxes jointly?
I'm helping my daughter fill out her FAFSA for 2025-2026 and I'm confused about the contributor section. My husband and I always file our taxes jointly, but does that mean we both need to create FSA IDs and complete separate contributor sections on her FAFSA? Or can just one of us do it since our tax info is combined? The instructions weren't clear about joint filers and I don't want to mess this up and delay her aid. Thanks in advance!
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Connor O'Brien
Only one parent needs to be the contributor on the FAFSA when you file taxes jointly. Since your tax information is combined on a joint return, either you OR your husband can complete the contributor section - not both. Whoever completes it will need their own FSA ID. Just make sure the parent who creates the FSA ID is the same one who completes the contributor section.
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Natasha Petrov
•Thank you! That's such a relief. So if I'm understanding correctly, my husband can create the FSA ID and complete the contributor section since he's the primary on our tax return? Or does it not matter which one of us does it?
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Amina Diallo
we file jointly to and my wife did the fafsa thing for our son. she just put all our info in there herself, didnt need me to do anything. worked fine
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Natasha Petrov
•That's great to hear it worked out for you! Did they ever ask for any verification or additional documents from you specifically, or was your wife's submission enough?
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Amina Diallo
•nope no problems at all. she just filled it all out and we got the SAI score like 2 weeks later
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GamerGirl99
The 2025-2026 FAFSA simplification means one parent/contributor completes the form for joint filers. Here's what you need to know: 1. Only ONE parent needs an FSA ID to be the contributor 2. Either parent from a joint return can be the contributor (doesn't have to be the primary tax filer) 3. The parent with the FSA ID will provide authorization to retrieve tax data 4. You'll need to report some information about the other parent (like date of birth) 5. Your combined income from the joint return will be used regardless of which parent completes it I recommend choosing whichever parent is more comfortable with online forms and remembering login credentials.
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Natasha Petrov
•This is so helpful, thank you for breaking it down! I'll probably be the one doing it since I handle most of our financial paperwork. One more question - do we need to provide information about our other children in college, or just focus on my daughter who's applying?
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GamerGirl99
•Yes, you'll definitely need to provide information about all dependent children in your household who will be attending college at least half-time during the 2025-2026 award year. This is very important as it directly affects your daughter's SAI calculation - having multiple students in college can significantly increase her aid eligibility.
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Hiroshi Nakamura
My wife and I were confused about this too! The FAFSA form doesn't explain this very well. We both created FSA IDs thinking we both needed to fill out sections and it caused problems with our application. Had to start over when we realized only one of us should be the contributor.
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Isabella Costa
•OMG SAME THING happened to us!!! It was such a mess and we had to call FSA to fix it. Spent literally FOUR HOURS on hold and then got disconnected! TWICE!!! The whole system is designed to torture parents I swear.
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Malik Jenkins
I think this depends on if you're the biological parents or step-parents? When my husband and I filed (he's stepdad to my son), we had different requirements even though we file jointly. Anyone know if that's still the case with the new FAFSA?
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GamerGirl99
•Great question about blended families. For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, the rules are: - If the student's biological/adoptive parents are married to each other and file jointly, only one needs to be the contributor - If one parent is a step-parent who files jointly with the biological/adoptive parent, the biological/adoptive parent should be the contributor - The contributor will still report household income which includes the step-parent's income from the joint return So it's less about who contributes and more about ensuring the household income is reported correctly.
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Isabella Costa
The FAFSA is SUCH a nightmare!!! I filled out the contributor section as the mom and then my ex-husband (we're divorced but BOTH have to fill it out in our case) couldn't get his part to work at all!! Something about the system not recognizing his relationship to our daughter?? Literally took 3 MONTHS to resolve and almost made her miss scholarship deadlines. Joint filers are lucky they only need one person!
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Connor O'Brien
•Sorry you went through that! Yes, divorced parents each need to complete separate FAFSAs, which is different from married parents filing jointly. The system should recognize both biological parents though - sounds like there might have been an input error somewhere. For the OP, this isn't an issue since they're married and filing jointly.
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Hiroshi Nakamura
am i the only one who thinks its weird that they need ONE fsa id for joint filers but TWO for divorced parents? like, the government already has all our tax info anyway, why make this so complicated?
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Amina Diallo
•its all bout control man. they want your data. more forms = more control
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Connor O'Brien
To summarize for the OP and anyone else with this question: 1. For married parents filing jointly: Only ONE parent needs an FSA ID and completes the contributor section 2. Either parent can be the contributor regardless of who's listed first on tax returns 3. The parent who creates the FSA ID must be the one to complete the contributor section 4. The system will use your joint tax information regardless of which parent completes it 5. Basic information about the non-contributing parent is still required Hope this helps!
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Natasha Petrov
•This is perfect - thank you so much for the clear summary! I feel much more confident about completing the application now.
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Liam McConnell
Just wanted to add one more tip that helped us - make sure whoever becomes the contributor keeps their FSA ID login info somewhere safe! You'll need it again next year when you renew the FAFSA, and also if the school requests any additional documentation or if there are any issues with verification. I made the mistake of forgetting mine and had to go through the whole password reset process during a time-sensitive deadline. Also, if you're using the mobile app, the desktop version sometimes works better for complex forms like this. Good luck with your daughter's application!
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