Does grandparent's SSI income count on FAFSA 2025-26 application?

This is actually a really common question with the new FAFSA! The short answer is NO - your grandmother's SSI benefits should NOT be included on your FAFSA, even if she lives with you. Only the income of your parents (or legal guardians) needs to be reported. The FAFSA doesn't consider grandparent income even if they live in your home and contribute financially. Make sure your parents don't mistakenly include her SSI when they report their total household income!

Just to be 100% clear - SSI (Supplemental Security Income) is NOT counted as income on the FAFSA, period. This applies whether it's received by parents, students or other household members like your grandmother. The revised 2025-26 FAFSA is actually easier about this than previous years. But one thing to watch for: if your grandmother transfers any of her SSI money directly to you (the student), THAT would need to be reported as untaxed income to you.

My grandma lived with us too & we DID report her SSI and got rejected for Pell Grants completely!!! Then found out later we shouldnt have included it. When we tried to make corrections the financial aid office said it was too late. DONT MAKE OUR MISTAKE!!

y'all making this too complicated lol. SSI = not counted. done. doesn't matter who gets it or where they live.

I had a somewhat similar situation but with my grandfather's Social Security retirement benefits (not SSI). I called the Federal Student Aid office to get clarification but spent HOURS trying to get through. I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) which got me through to a live agent in about 15 minutes instead of the usual 2+ hour wait. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ that shows how it works. The agent confirmed that only parent/guardian income counts, not grandparent income, even when they live with you. Totally worth it to get the official answer directly from FSA.

Financial aid professional here: To clarify the rules for the 2025-26 FAFSA: 1) SSI is considered "untaxed income" but is EXCLUDED from FAFSA calculations 2) Only the income of legal parents/guardians counts - not other household members 3) Who is claimed as a tax dependent is separate from who counts on FAFSA 4) Small cash gifts under $3,500 per year are not typically required to be reported 5) If your grandmother contributes to household bills directly (pays utilities herself), that doesn't count either Make sure you're using the official studentaid.gov site when you apply, as the rules have changed significantly from previous years.

For your CSS Profile question - that's different from FAFSA. The CSS Profile DOES sometimes consider grandparent income in certain circumstances, especially if they're living in the home. Each school using CSS Profile can set their own rules about this. I'd recommend contacting the financial aid office at your top choice school directly to ask about their specific CSS Profile requirements regarding grandparent income and SSI.

The whole system is DESIGNED to be confusing!!!!! They WANT us to make mistakes so they can give out LESS AID. My sister put our aunt's disability on FAFSA and got almost NOTHING when she should have qualified for full Pell. When she tried to fix it they gave her the runaround for MONTHS. The government doesn't want us going to college unless we're willing to take out MASSIVE LOANS that we'll be paying back until we DIE!!!

@OP I fixed the same mistake on my FAFSA last year! If you submit and realize you accidentally included grandma's SSI, you can make a correction afterward. Just log back into studentaid.gov, go to your FAFSA, and click "Make FAFSA Corrections." But doing it right the first time is wayyy easier!

As someone who just went through this process last year, I wanted to add that it's really important to keep documentation of everything! I saved screenshots of the official FAFSA instructions about SSI exclusions, and when my school's financial aid office questioned some of my info, having those references made the conversation go much smoother. Also, if your grandmother does help with any of your educational expenses directly (like paying for textbooks or tuition), make sure to track those amounts separately since they might need to be reported differently than her general household contributions. The key is being able to show exactly where every dollar came from if asked!