FAFSA 2025-2026: Which divorced parent submits tax info when alternating dependent claims?

The parent who provides MORE THAN 50% of the financial support AND who the student lived with the MOST during the year will submit the FAFSA! So that means YOU submit as the custodial parent regardless of who claimed your child on taxes. My ex and I do the same thing with alternating tax years for our kids. The tax dependency claim has NOTHING to do with FAFSA determination of which parent submits. Don't worry about that part at all. You'll need to provide your tax info as the custodial parent, and the non-custodial parent (your ex) won't be considered at all for the FAFSA calculation.

wait thats not how it worked for us! when my parents were divorced the financial aid office made BOTH parents submit info. they said divorced parents can hide income by splitting assets. my dad's income counted even tho i lived w my mom. this was for the css profile tho, maybe fafsa is different?

My husband and I just went through this last year for my stepson! The FAFSA only cares about the custodial parent - which is determined by where your child lived most of the time in the past year. The tax claiming thing has zero impact, so the fact that your ex claimed your daughter doesn't matter at all for FAFSA. Your ex won't need to provide any info for the FAFSA (but might need to for CSS Profile if your daughter applies to private schools). Your income being lower is actually good news for aid purposes!

I spent 3 hours on the phone with Federal Student Aid last month sorting out this EXACT situation. For the 2025-2026 FAFSA, here's what you need to know: 1. Only the custodial parent (where student lived MORE than 50% of time) provides information 2. Tax dependency has ZERO bearing on FAFSA 3. Your marital status as of the day you file FAFSA matters 4. You'll report YOUR household income only 5. If you've remarried, your current spouse's income must be included BTW, trying to reach FSA by phone is nearly impossible these days. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through after days of busy signals. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. Made it so much easier to get answers directly from FSA.

theyre changing so many FAFSA rules now who knows what will happen for 2025/26? last year was a total disaster with the 'simplified' FAFSA lol. my cousins app took 4 months to process!

I've managed FAFSA applications for hundreds of students from divorced families, and I can verify that your tax situation has no bearing on which parent completes the FAFSA. The only factor is where your child lived the majority of the year. However, one important note: you mentioned your child graduates in June 2025. The 2025-2026 FAFSA will be available October 1, 2024, and uses 2023 tax information. Make sure to complete it as soon as possible after October 1st, as some state aid is first-come, first-served. If your child is applying to any private institutions that require the CSS Profile, both parents' financial information will likely be required regardless of custody arrangements.

my parents did this too with switching who claimed us kids. dad made way more so mom always did our fafsa stuff. dad got mad cuz he thought he should get some benefit for paying child support but thats not how it works lol

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information! I feel much clearer now. To summarize what I've learned: 1. As the custodial parent (where my daughter lives more than 50% of the time), I'm the only one who needs to submit financial info for FAFSA. 2. The fact that my ex claimed her on 2023 taxes is completely irrelevant for FAFSA purposes. 3. I'll need to submit my 2023 tax information when the application opens October 1, 2024. 4. I should have documentation ready just in case we get selected for verification. 5. If we apply to private schools requiring CSS Profile, that's a different system where both parents' info might be needed. This is such a relief! I was worried we'd have to use his higher income, which would have meant less aid. Thank you all again!

Great job summarizing everything! One small additional tip - when you're completing the FAFSA in October, make sure to apply for your FSA ID (studentaid.gov) a few days before you plan to submit if you don't already have one. Both you and your daughter will need separate FSA IDs to electronically sign the application. The verification process can take a few days, and you don't want that to delay your submission. Also, keep your 2023 tax return handy since you'll need specific line items from it. The whole process should be much smoother than last year's rollout disaster!

Just wanted to add one more resource that might be helpful - the Federal Student Aid website has a really useful tool called the "FAFSA Parent Information" guide that specifically addresses divorced parent situations. It walks through scenarios exactly like yours with flowcharts to help determine which parent should complete the FAFSA. Since you mentioned being stressed about getting this right, having that official documentation might give you extra peace of mind! You can find it at studentaid.gov under the "Complete the FAFSA" section. Also, many high school guidance counselors are trained on these situations and can review your specific circumstances if you want a second opinion before submitting.

I went through this exact situation with my son two years ago! Same deal - divorced parents alternating tax claims, but I was the custodial parent. I was so worried about messing it up that I actually called three different financial aid offices to confirm, and they all said the same thing: FAFSA only cares about physical custody, not tax dependency. One thing I wish someone had told me - if your daughter ends up getting selected for verification (which is totally random), they might ask for a letter from her school confirming her address or medical records showing where she receives care. I had to scramble to get those documents later. It's not required upfront, but having them ready just in case saves stress later. Also, since your income is significantly lower than your ex's ($42K vs $78K), this should work out really well for aid purposes! That income difference could mean thousands more in aid eligibility. You're definitely on the right track!

I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation right now! My ex and I have been alternating who claims our twin daughters for taxes, and I was panicking about how this would affect their FAFSA applications next year. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly reassuring. It's so helpful to see multiple people confirm that the tax dependency doesn't matter at all for FAFSA - I was convinced I'd somehow mess this up and hurt their chances at financial aid. The income difference in our case is even more dramatic (I make $38K, he makes $95K), so knowing that only my income will count for FAFSA purposes is huge. I'm definitely going to start gathering those verification documents everyone mentioned, just to be prepared. Thank you Logan for asking this question - you probably helped way more people than just yourself!