FAFSA 2024-2025 confusion - renewal issues, parent login, and wrong tax year questions

The 2024-2025 FAFSA is COMPLETELY different from previous years. It's actually a brand new system with the FAFSA Simplification Act, not a renewal of the old one. That's why everything looks different. To answer your questions: 1) There are no "renewals" in the traditional sense with the new FAFSA. Everyone starts fresh because the entire system changed. 2) Your son needs to start the FAFSA with his FSA ID, then he'll invite you as a contributor. You'll use YOUR FSA ID to complete the parent portion. Since you file jointly, only one parent needs to complete it. 3) The 2024-2025 FAFSA does use 2022 tax information. This is correct. They always use the "prior-prior year" taxes. So for 2024-2025 aid, they look at 2022 taxes. Hope this helps! The new system is confusing everyone.

omg im having THE EXACT SAME ISSUE!!!! its so frustrating!!!! i was up till 2am trying to figure this out for my daughter. the old system was way easier. why did they have to change everything???

The new FAFSA for 2024-2025 is an entirely redesigned system - this is why it feels completely different. Let me break down your questions in more detail: 1. Renewal Process: The concept of "renewal" applications essentially doesn't exist in the new FAFSA. Everyone must complete a new application because the formula for calculating financial need (now called the Student Aid Index or SAI) has completely changed. 2. Login Process: The correct flow is: - Your son creates/uses his FSA ID to START the application - He then adds you as a contributor - You receive an email invitation - You log in with YOUR FSA ID to complete the parent portion - Since you file jointly with your spouse, only one parent needs to complete it 3. Tax Year: Using 2022 taxes is correct. FAFSA always uses the "prior-prior year" tax information. For the 2024-2025 academic year, they use 2022 tax data, not 2023. If your financial situation has significantly changed since 2022, complete the FAFSA with the required 2022 information first. After receiving your aid offer, contact your son's school's financial aid office to request a "professional judgment" review based on your changed circumstances. The new system is designed to eventually be simpler, but the transition has been rocky for everyone.

lol the government cant do anything right. they "simplify" it and make it 100x more complicated. classic. good luck with this mess!

I spent HOURS trying to contact someone at Federal Student Aid about this same issue last week. Their phone system is a complete joke - I kept getting disconnected after waiting 45+ minutes each time. Finally I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual human at FSA in about 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent confirmed everything that people are saying here - your son needs to start the application, you get invited as a contributor, and 2022 taxes are correct. But they also helped me fix some technical issues we were having with the contributor invitations not going through properly. Definitely worth it for the peace of mind.

dont feel bad, literally EVERYONE is struggling with the new fafsa. they rolled it out way too early without fixing the bugs first. my daughters financial aid counselor said they've never seen so many problems with fafsa in 20 years of working there!

To answer your follow-up question about the application you started incorrectly - you don't need to do anything with it. Just have your son start a new one with his FSA ID. The system will eventually timeout the inactive one. And yes, absolutely complete the FAFSA with the 2022 tax information as required, then immediately reach out to each college's financial aid office about your husband's job loss. They can do what's called a "professional judgment" review to adjust your aid based on current circumstances. Make sure to have documentation of the job loss and change in income ready.

I just want to add that my daughter's college financial aid office is holding special FAFSA workshops to help parents navigate the new system. Maybe check if your son's school offers something similar? Our college financial aid officer said they've been getting HUNDREDS of calls about the exact same issues you're describing.

One final tip to keep in mind - the new FAFSA calculates the Student Aid Index (SAI) differently than the old Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Even with the same financial information, your son's aid eligibility might be different than in previous years. The new formula adjusts for family size differently, changes how multiple students in college are counted, and modifies asset protection allowances. So don't be surprised if your final aid offer looks different than previous years, even if your financial situation hasn't changed much. The good news is that the overall Pell Grant eligibility has expanded under the new system, so many students may qualify for more federal grant aid than before.