Do stepparent's 2023 taxes need to be included on FAFSA if parent remarried in 2024?

Yes, the new wife's information DOES need to be included. The FAFSA looks at the household composition at the time of filing, not during the tax year. Since they're married now when completing the FAFSA, both your ex-husband and his new wife are considered contributors and both of their 2023 tax information is required, even though they weren't married during that tax year. This is a common point of confusion with the new FAFSA. The application looks at the current legal relationship status at the time of filing, then pulls financial information from the required tax year (2023 for the 2025-2026 FAFSA).

my sister had this EXACT same situation last yr. her ex got remarried and the new wife's income counted. their expected contribution tripled and my niece got way less aid than before. its totally messed up but thats how they do it now w/ the FAFSA

There IS a way to potentially address this! While the stepparent's income does need to be reported, you can submit a special circumstances appeal (sometimes called a Professional Judgment request) to the financial aid office after receiving the aid offer. You can explain that the marriage occurred after the tax year and request they reconsider the aid package. College financial aid offices have the authority to make adjustments in special circumstances. Make sure to document everything: the marriage date, the previous aid packages, and explain how the new marriage doesn't actually reflect increased financial support for the student. Every school handles these differently, but it's worth trying!

oof this is why i hate fafsa, they just make up random rules. so if they got married jan 1 2024 the wifes income counts but if they got married jan 1 2025 it wouldnt count?? makes NO sense to me

After struggling with this exact issue last fall, I learned that you ABSOLUTELY have to include the new spouse's information. I tried calling the Federal Student Aid info line dozens of times to argue my case but couldn't get through. Eventually I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to connect with an actual FSA agent who confirmed that the current household composition is what matters - not when the marriage occurred. They have a video demo of how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ if you're having trouble reaching someone directly. When I finally spoke with the agent, they explained that after submitting the FAFSA with both incomes, we could request a professional judgment review from each individual school's financial aid office. That part was actually easier than I expected.

To address your original question in more detail: 1. Yes, the stepparent's 2023 income MUST be reported even though they weren't married until 2024 2. This is because FAFSA looks at household composition at the time of filing, not during the tax year 3. The financial information required is from the 2023 tax year for all current legal parents/stepparents 4. This does potentially mean your daughter could qualify for less aid because the formula will include the new spouse's income and assets 5. As others have mentioned, you can appeal this through a Professional Judgment request AFTER receiving aid offers One important note: make sure your ex-husband uses the IRS Data Retrieval Tool for both his and his new wife's tax information if possible. This reduces the chance of verification issues later.

The whole FAFSA system is RIGGED against students!!! My step-son got ZERO aid because they counted BOTH his mom AND my income even though I don't pay a cent for his college!!! It's literally just a way to FORCE families into taking PLUS loans they can't afford!!

hey not to get off topic but does anyone know when the 2025-2026 fafsa actually opens? i heard october but then someone said december and now im confused

Thank you all for the helpful advice! I just told my daughter about the special circumstances appeal option and she feels much better knowing there's a potential way to address this situation. I've also passed along the information to my ex-husband so he can properly complete the FAFSA when it opens. I'll definitely be checking each school's financial aid website for their specific appeal forms once we get the initial aid packages.

I went through this exact situation with my stepdaughter last year! Yes, unfortunately you do need to include the new wife's 2023 tax information even though they weren't married then. The key thing to remember is that FAFSA looks at who's in the household NOW when filing, not during the tax year. Here's what helped us: First, we completed the FAFSA with both incomes as required. Then, immediately after receiving the initial aid offers, we contacted each school's financial aid office to explain the timing of the marriage. Most schools were actually pretty understanding once we provided documentation (marriage certificate showing the February 2024 date). Two schools ended up adjusting her aid package through the professional judgment process, which made a real difference. Make sure to emphasize that the stepparent's income wasn't available to support educational expenses during 2023 since they weren't even family yet. Keep all your documentation organized - marriage certificate, previous aid awards if your daughter received aid before, and a clear timeline of events. The system definitely isn't perfect, but don't give up hope! The appeals process exists for exactly these kinds of situations.