FAFSA 2025-2026: Which tax return year (2023 or 2024) needed for Class of 2025 student?
I'm completely confused about which tax return will be required for my daughter who's starting college in Fall 2025. The FAFSA application opens in December 2024, but 2024 taxes won't even be filed until April 2025. Does this mean they'll use our 2023 tax information? Or will we need to submit the 2024 returns later? The whole prior-prior year thing has me totally confused and I don't want to miss anything that could affect her aid package. Anyone who's been through this recently that can clarify?
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Zainab Ismail
The 2025-2026 FAFSA will use your 2023 tax information. This is what's called 'prior-prior year' - they go back two years for tax data. So for students starting in Fall 2025, they'll be filing the 2025-2026 FAFSA using 2023 tax returns. It's confusing at first, but the system is designed this way so families can complete the FAFSA earlier using already-filed tax returns rather than waiting for the current year's taxes to be filed.
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Miguel Silva
•Thank you! That's such a relief. So I don't need to worry about our 2024 taxes affecting her initial financial aid package. That makes the timeline make more sense.
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Connor O'Neill
they use the prior prior year so its 2023 taxes for 2025 entrance. my son is starting this fall and we used 2022 taxes for his fafsa
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QuantumQuester
But wait, what if your financial situation changes dramatically between 2023 and when your kid starts college in 2025? My husband lost his job and our income dropped by like 40% the year after we filed FAFSA for our oldest. We had to do something called a 'special circumstances' form with each school. HUGE HEADACHE but worth it because some schools adjusted our aid!!
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Yara Nassar
•This is a very important point. If your financial circumstances change significantly after filing the FAFSA with 2023 tax information, you can request a professional judgment review (sometimes called a special circumstances review) from each college's financial aid office. Common qualifying situations include job loss, major medical expenses, or significant reduction in income. Each school handles these differently, but they typically require documentation of the change in circumstances. It's not automatic - you need to be proactive about requesting this review.
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Keisha Williams
my daughter is also class of 2025!!! so excited but also terrified about paying for everything lol. the tax thing confused me too but yeah its 2023 taxes for the 2025-2026 fafsa
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Paolo Ricci
I tried calling Federal Student Aid to confirm this EXACT question last week because my financial advisor told me something different (he was wrong). Spent 2 hours on hold before getting disconnected. TWICE. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent in about 8 minutes. They have this video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ Anyway, the agent confirmed it's definitely 2023 taxes for the 2025-26 FAFSA. Prior-prior year is the rule.
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Keisha Williams
•omg thank you for this!! i've been trying to call them about my son's SAI calculation and keep getting disconnected too, gonna try that service
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Miguel Silva
•Thanks for sharing that resource. I might need it later in the process if I run into issues. Good to know there's a way to actually reach someone instead of being on eternal hold!
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Amina Toure
Just be careful with the prior-prior year system because it doesn't always reflect your current financial reality. We had a MUCH better year in 2023 than we're having now in 2024 (medical bills, ugh), so our FAFSA will show higher income than we're actually working with for paying tuition. Remember you can always appeal your financial aid package directly with schools if your circumstances have changed significantly from what your 2023 tax returns show. Each school handles this differently, so you'll need to contact each financial aid office individually. Some schools are more generous with adjustments than others.
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Miguel Silva
•I'm sorry to hear about your medical expenses. That's a really good point about schools handling appeals differently. Did you find any particular approach worked better when asking schools to reconsider?
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Amina Toure
•Documentation is EVERYTHING. We created a folder with medical bills, proof of payment, insurance statements showing what wasn't covered, everything. Also, I wrote a very specific letter explaining exactly how our financial situation had changed. The more specific you can be with dollar amounts and dates, the better. Our state university was actually more accommodating than the private college my daughter also applied to, which surprised us.
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Zainab Ismail
One other thing to be aware of: The FAFSA simplification means the form for 2025-2026 will be very different than previous years. It now calculates a Student Aid Index (SAI) rather than the old Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The 2023 tax return requirement hasn't changed, but how they use that information to calculate aid eligibility has. Make sure you're looking at current resources when you research this topic, as advice from even 2-3 years ago might be outdated due to these significant changes.
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Connor O'Neill
•yeah the new SAI thing is way different!! my kids are 2 years apart and the calculations changed completely between them. make sure to use the new calculators
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Miguel Silva
•I had no idea about this change! Are there any good resources you'd recommend for understanding how the new SAI works compared to the old system?
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QuantumQuester
I'm still mad about this whole prior-prior year system!!! Our 2023 income was nearly DOUBLE our normal income because we sold some property that year. Now my twins who start college in 2025 will look like they come from a much wealthier family than we actually are. The whole system is BROKEN!!! 😡😡😡
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Yara Nassar
•This is exactly the type of situation where you should request a professional judgment review. One-time capital gains from property sales can often be excluded or adjusted in financial aid calculations if you properly document and explain the situation. Contact each school's financial aid office once your students have been accepted and explain that your 2023 tax return includes one-time income that doesn't reflect your regular financial situation. Many families don't realize they can request these adjustments and miss out on potential aid.
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