FAFSA 2025-2026: Do stepparents count? Confused about which parents to include

This is actually straightforward (even though FAFSA doesn't explain it well). You only include the parent he lives with MOST of the time and that parent's spouse if they're remarried. So in your case, it's his mom and stepdad ONLY since he lives with them during the school year. The dad and stepmom don't get reported at all on the FAFSA, regardless of who provides more financial support.

The previous commenter is correct. FAFSA goes by physical residence, not financial contribution. The official rule is that you report the parent your nephew lived with most during the past 12 months. If that's his mom, then you report his mom and stepdad's information. His dad's financial support is irrelevant for FAFSA purposes (though it might matter for other types of aid applications like the CSS Profile, which some private schools require).

Just went through this exact situation with my daughter last month. You definitely only report the parent where your nephew lives most of the time + their spouse. So mom and stepdad in your case. The FAFSA will calculate your SAI (Student Aid Index) based on their financial information. One thing to watch out for - make sure the parent and stepparent have FSA IDs set up before you start. Both need to sign the FAFSA, and getting the IDs can take a day or two if they don't already have them.

The whole FAFSA system is RIGGED against kids with divorced parents!!! My stepdad makes six figures but doesn't contribute A PENNY to my education, yet I had to include him and got almost no financial aid. Meanwhile my friends with married parents who make more money got better packages. The system is BROKEN and nobody at Federal Student Aid cares!!!!!

my cousin had this exact problem last year and she just put her mom's info only (didn't include stepdad) and nothing bad happened. might be worth considering...

After spending HOURS trying to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid for this exact question last month, I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual person instead of waiting on hold forever. They have a system that waits on hold for you and calls you when an agent is ready. Saved me literally hours of frustration. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent confirmed it's just the parent they live with most + that parent's spouse. And they recommended documenting the living situation (especially if it's close to 50/50) in case of verification.

Just remember the new FAFSA is super glitchy so save your work like every 5 min!!!! My app crashed THREE TIMES when I was doing the parent section last week 😡

One other important thing - if your nephew's parents have 50/50 custody (or very close to it), he should use the parent who provides more financial support. And if the custody is truly equal AND financial support is equal, then you use the parent with the higher income (though that would likely result in less aid).

Just to add a final point - if your nephew's biological father is contributing significantly to his education costs, that should be reported in the additional information section of the FAFSA or in a separate letter to each college's financial aid office. While it won't change the federal calculation, individual colleges may take it into account when awarding their institutional aid.

As someone who just went through this process with my own stepkid, I can confirm what others have said - it's definitely just the parent your nephew lives with most (his mom) plus her current spouse (stepdad). The FAFSA doesn't care about the biological father's income or his new wife's income in this situation. One thing I'd add is to make sure you have all the tax documents ready for both the mom AND stepdad before you start - you'll need their W-2s, tax returns, and bank statements. The process goes much smoother when you have everything in front of you rather than trying to hunt down documents mid-application. Good luck!