Does FAFSA consider child support paid when calculating financial aid eligibility?

Yes, FAFSA does take into account child support that your husband pays! On the FAFSA form (specifically question 44f for 2025-2026), you can report the annual amount of child support paid. This amount gets subtracted from your income when calculating your Student Aid Index (SAI). Make sure you have documentation of these payments since it might be requested during verification. Also keep in mind that while this will help, it won't completely offset that income - but it definitely improves your aid eligibility compared to not reporting it.

we had the EXACT same situation!!! my husband was paying support for 2 kids not living with us while we were trying to get my daughter into MSU. the fasfa ppl only counted part of the support he paid and we ended up with barely any aid. its total BS they dont take ALL of it into account bc that money literally isnt even in our household!!!

You should definitely report the child support on the FAFSA, but I also recommend you contact each college's financial aid office directly after you submit. Many schools have a special circumstances form where you can explain situations like this that might not be fully captured by the FAFSA formula. Michigan schools in particular tend to be pretty good about considering these factors.

I work in financial aid at a Michigan university (can't say which one). Here's what you need to know: 1. Yes, child support paid is reported on FAFSA and subtracted from income 2. However, there is NO CAP on how much can be subtracted - if you paid $14,400 for the year, all of it counts 3. You'll need documentation - bank statements or court records 4. IMPORTANT: Many schools have a "Professional Judgment" process where they can make additional adjustments beyond the standard FAFSA calculation 5. The standard FAFSA only accounts for the support paid in 2023 for the 2025-2026 application, so if the amount changed, that needs to be addressed through Professional Judgment Submit the FAFSA first, then immediately request a Professional Judgment review at each school she applies to.

Lol they don't care, FAFSA is a joke. We make decent money too but have 4 kids and still got nothing. The system is rigged against middle class families 🤷‍♂️

Ran into MASSIVE problems trying to get a human on the phone at Federal Student Aid when we had a similar situation last year. My husband pays child support for two kids, and our FAFSA didn't seem to calculate it correctly. I ended up using Claimyr to get through to a representative without waiting for hours. Video showed exactly how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ and the website is claimyr.com. Got connected to someone in like 15 minutes who explained exactly how the child support would affect our SAI calculation and what documentation we needed.

Have you looked into the Michigan Competitive Scholarship or Michigan Tuition Grant? State aid might help fill gaps if federal aid isn't enough. Also, some Michigan public universities have special programs for in-state students that aren't based solely on FAFSA. Wayne State has the Heart of Detroit Tuition Pledge, and MSU has some special scholarships too.

Quick additional tip: when you complete the FAFSA, review the SAI calculation before submitting. Sometimes the child support paid doesn't get properly calculated in the preview. If something looks off, save your work and call the Federal Student Aid Information Center to troubleshoot before submitting.

anyone else think its crazy that fasfa expects parents to pay so much?? like im not made of money people!!!

Just wanted to add that you should also make sure to report your stepdaughter correctly on the FAFSA since her biological father passed away. She should be listed as a dependent in your household, and if your husband legally adopted her or if she's been living with you for more than half the year, that can sometimes affect the calculation too. Also, with a $65K combined income and substantial child support payments being deducted, you might qualify for more aid than you think - especially if your stepdaughter has good grades and test scores that could open up merit-based opportunities on top of need-based aid. Don't give up hope before you even apply!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation but with a twist - my husband pays child support AND we have high medical expenses for our daughter (she has a chronic condition). Does anyone know if medical expenses can also be considered alongside the child support deduction? I'm wondering if we should pursue the Professional Judgment process that @LunarEclipse mentioned to account for both factors. Our income on paper looks decent but between the support payments and medical bills, we're barely making ends meet.

Just wanted to share our experience from last year - we had almost the exact same situation with my husband paying child support for 2 kids while our daughter was applying to colleges. The FAFSA did allow us to deduct the full amount of child support paid (around $1,000/month), but like others mentioned, it doesn't completely offset the income. However, the Professional Judgment process was a game-changer for us! We submitted documentation to each school showing not just the court-ordered support but also how it affected our actual available income. Three out of the four schools we applied to gave us additional aid beyond what the FAFSA calculated. My biggest tip: start gathering all your documentation now (court orders, payment records, bank statements) because you'll need it for both the FAFSA and the Professional Judgment requests. Also, don't be discouraged by that $65K income - with the child support deduction and potentially getting Professional Judgment consideration, you might qualify for more aid than you expect!

I'm going through something very similar right now with my son applying for fall 2026! My husband pays child support for his two kids from his first marriage - about $900/month - and it's been such a relief reading through this thread. I had no idea about the Professional Judgment process that @LunarEclipse mentioned, and hearing @Fatima Al-Mansour's success story with multiple schools gives me so much hope. We're also in that tricky middle-income bracket where we make too much for significant aid on paper, but after child support and other expenses, college feels impossible. I'm definitely going to start gathering all our documentation now and reach out to each school's financial aid office. This community has been incredibly helpful - thank you all for sharing your experiences!

I'm going through the exact same situation and this thread has been a lifesaver! My husband pays about $800/month in child support for his daughter from a previous relationship, and we've been stressing about how our $68K combined income would look on the FAFSA for our son who's applying this fall. Reading about everyone's experiences with both the child support deduction AND the Professional Judgment process has given me so much hope. I had no idea schools could make additional adjustments beyond the standard FAFSA calculation. We've been documenting everything religiously - court orders, payment confirmations, bank statements - so we're ready to submit both the FAFSA and Professional Judgment requests. It's such a relief to know we're not alone in dealing with this complicated situation where our on-paper income doesn't reflect what's actually available for college expenses. Thank you all for being so generous with sharing your knowledge and experiences!

This thread has been incredibly informative! I'm in a similar boat - my spouse pays child support for two kids from a previous marriage (about $1,100/month) and we're preparing for our daughter's college applications for fall 2026. What I'm finding so valuable here is not just learning about the child support deduction on FAFSA, but also discovering the Professional Judgment process that @LunarEclipse explained. I had no idea schools could make additional adjustments beyond the standard federal calculation. For anyone else reading this who's in a similar situation, it seems like the key takeaways are: 1) definitely report the child support paid on the FAFSA, 2) gather ALL documentation (court orders, payment records, bank statements), and 3) proactively reach out to each school's financial aid office about Professional Judgment reviews. It's giving me so much more confidence knowing that our actual financial reality - not just what appears on tax forms - can potentially be considered. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and advice!

This entire thread has been so helpful - thank you all for sharing your experiences! I'm in a nearly identical situation with my husband paying $950/month in child support while we navigate college planning for our daughter. Reading through everyone's stories, especially @LunarEclipse's insider perspective and @Fatima Al-Mansour's success with multiple schools, has completely changed my understanding of how this process works. I had resigned myself to thinking we'd get minimal aid because of our combined income, but now I realize there are actual mechanisms in place to account for our real financial situation. I'm definitely going to start gathering all our documentation now and plan to submit Professional Judgment requests to each school. It's amazing how this community has turned what felt like a hopeless situation into something manageable with the right information and strategy!

I'm jumping into this conversation as someone who just went through this exact process with my daughter who started college this fall! My husband pays $1,050/month in child support for his two kids from his previous marriage, and I was so worried about how our $72K household income would affect our aid eligibility. This thread has been incredibly validating because everything you all are discussing matches exactly what we experienced. The FAFSA child support deduction definitely helped - we were able to deduct the full $12,600 annually. But the real game-changer was the Professional Judgment process that several people mentioned. We submitted requests to four schools and got additional aid adjustments at three of them. My advice: start early with documentation, be persistent with follow-ups to financial aid offices, and don't let that middle-income bracket discourage you. The system isn't perfect, but there are definitely ways to make it work better when you know what to ask for!

I'm in almost the exact same situation and this thread has been incredibly eye-opening! My husband pays $875/month in child support for his son from his first marriage, and we have my daughter starting college in fall 2026. Our combined income is around $63K, so we're in that challenging middle-income bracket too. Reading about the child support deduction on FAFSA was such a relief - I had no idea that was even possible. But what's really blown my mind is learning about the Professional Judgment process from @LunarEclipse and seeing @CaptainAwesome's recent success story. I've been feeling so overwhelmed thinking our income would disqualify us from meaningful aid, but now I'm realizing there are actual pathways to get our real financial situation considered. I'm definitely going to start gathering all our court documents and payment records now. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - this community has turned what felt like an impossible situation into something we can actually navigate with the right approach!

This thread has been absolutely incredible! As someone who's been lurking and learning from everyone's experiences, I wanted to jump in and share that I'm in a very similar situation. My partner pays $920/month in child support for two kids from a previous relationship, and we're preparing for our son's college applications for fall 2026. Reading through all of these real experiences - from @LunarEclipse's insider knowledge about there being no cap on child support deductions, to @Fatima Al-Mansour and @CaptainAwesome's success stories with the Professional Judgment process - has completely transformed my understanding of how this works. I went from feeling hopeless about our $67K household income to realizing there are actually concrete steps we can take to get our real financial situation properly considered. I'm starting to gather all our documentation now (court orders, payment records, bank statements) and planning to be proactive about reaching out to financial aid offices. Thank you all for creating such a supportive and informative community - it's made all the difference in helping families like ours navigate this complex process!

This thread has been such a goldmine of information! I'm dealing with a very similar situation - my husband pays $1,050/month in child support for his daughter from a previous marriage, and we're navigating college planning for my stepdaughter who'll be starting fall 2026. Our combined income is about $69K, which puts us in that tricky spot where we look "too wealthy" on paper but are actually stretched thin after the support payments. Reading through everyone's experiences, especially learning about the Professional Judgment process from @LunarEclipse and seeing the success stories from @Fatima Al-Mansour and @CaptainAwesome, has given me so much hope. I had no idea schools could make adjustments beyond the standard FAFSA calculation! I'm definitely going to start gathering all our court documents and payment records now. One question for those who've been through this - did you find it helpful to contact financial aid offices before submitting applications, or is it better to wait until after you've been accepted? Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences - this community has been incredible!

This thread has been absolutely amazing to read through! I'm in a very similar situation - my spouse pays $1,200/month in child support for three kids from a previous marriage (exactly like what the original poster mentioned), and we're preparing for our daughter's college journey. Our household income is around $64K, so we're definitely in that challenging middle-income bracket where we look "comfortable" on paper but struggle after the support payments. Reading through all these real experiences has been so educational - I had no idea about the child support deduction on FAFSA or the Professional Judgment process that @LunarEclipse explained. The success stories from @Fatima Al-Mansour and @CaptainAwesome give me real hope that we can get our actual financial situation properly considered. I'm planning to start gathering all our documentation (court orders, payment records, bank statements) right away and be proactive about contacting financial aid offices. It's incredible how this community has transformed what felt like a hopeless financial aid situation into something we can actually navigate strategically. Thank you all for being so generous with sharing your knowledge and experiences!