FAFSA 2025-2026 confusion: Student tax filing vs. dependent status - are my son's finances being considered?

The simplified FAFSA still considers student income, but in a different way. Since your son is a dependent student, his income is evaluated with a higher protection allowance than in previous years. For 2025-2026, only a small percentage of student income above the protection amount (around $7,600) will impact the SAI calculation. So his $8,200 will have minimal impact on his aid eligibility. The form focuses on parent information because parent income and assets typically have a much higher impact on the final SAI number than dependent student income does.

they def look at student income but not as much as yours. my kid made like $9000 and it barely changed anything on our fafsa. dont worry about it

I had this EXACT same question when filling out FAFSA for my daughter!!! So frustrating how unclear everything is. We called the Federal Student Aid number FOUR TIMES and got disconnected each time. The website FAQ was zero help too. How are parents supposed to navigate this complicated system when they won't even answer basic questions like this?!?

The new FAFSA actually simplifies how student income is considered. Your son's income is factored in, but with a very favorable formula compared to parent income. The system has access to tax records through the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, so if your son filed taxes, that information is available to the FAFSA system even without explicit questions. Only income above the student protection allowance (around $7,600 for 2025-2026) is assessed at 50%, and since your son only made $8,200, only about $300 of his income would be assessed. This would have minimal impact on his final SAI calculation.

ok so like my situation was kinda similar last yr with my daughter? she made like $6k at her mall job but we never had to like specifically enter that anywhere on the form that i remember? she still got her pell grant and everything so i think its fine

The whole system is DESIGNED to be confusing! They make it complicated on purpose so fewer people complete it successfully. I've been through this 3 times with my kids and every year the rules change and information disappears. The financial aid system is broken and nobody in government cares to fix it.

To follow up on the previous explanations - under the new FAFSA Simplification Act, dependent student income is assessed in a much more favorable way. The student allowance protection increased, and the system now uses the IRS Data Retrieval Tool more extensively to gather tax information without redundant questions. This is why you're not seeing explicit questions about your son's tax filing status. Rest assured that all relevant financial information is being considered appropriately in the SAI calculation.

When I filed my FAFSA back in January this year, I had a similar question about my son's summer internship money. What I found out after calling the financial aid office at his school is that they actually prefer you contact THEM with these specific questions rather than trying to figure it all out yourself. Each school interprets FAFSA information slightly differently. My son's school told me his income wouldn't affect anything unless it was over $10,000 anyway.

I went through this same confusion last year with my daughter! The new FAFSA system actually does capture student income, but it's much more streamlined now. Since your son is a dependent, his $8,200 income will have very minimal impact on his aid eligibility - probably less than $100 difference in his final SAI. The form focuses heavily on parent info because that's what drives most of the calculation for dependent students. Don't stress about it - sounds like you filled everything out correctly and his income is being factored in appropriately behind the scenes through the IRS data sharing.

I'm going through this exact same situation right now with my daughter! She's 18, works part-time at a local restaurant, and made about $7,800 last year. Like your son, she's still my dependent but files her own taxes. I was also confused by how little the FAFSA asked about her income compared to all the detailed parent financial questions. After reading through these responses, I'm feeling much more confident that the system is working correctly and her income is being factored in appropriately. It's such a relief to know that student income under the protection allowance has minimal impact on aid eligibility. Thanks for asking this question - it helped me understand my own situation better!

I'm new to the FAFSA process and this thread has been incredibly helpful! My son just turned 19 and is in a very similar situation - he's my dependent, lives at home, but works part-time and made around $9,500 last year. I was panicking because I thought the FAFSA wasn't capturing his income properly, but reading all these explanations about the student income protection allowance and how the IRS Data Retrieval Tool works behind the scenes has put my mind at ease. It sounds like even though he made a bit more than some of the examples here, the impact on his SAI will still be pretty minimal since only the amount over ~$7,600 gets assessed. Thank you all for sharing your experiences - it's so reassuring to know other parents have navigated this successfully!

As someone who just went through this exact same process with my twin daughters, I can definitely relate to the confusion! Both of my girls work part-time jobs and made between $6,000-$8,500 last year. I was initially worried about the same thing - it felt like the FAFSA was ignoring their income entirely. But after speaking with a financial aid counselor at our local community college, I learned that the new system is actually much more student-friendly than the old one. The student income protection allowance is higher now, and like others have mentioned, only income above that threshold gets assessed at 50%. What really helped me was realizing that for dependent students, parent income and assets are weighted much more heavily in the SAI calculation than student income. So even if your son's $8,200 does have a small impact, it's likely to be under $300 total effect on his aid eligibility. The stress of not knowing is definitely worse than the actual financial impact!

I'm going through this exact situation right now and this thread has been a lifesaver! My son is 20, still my dependent, and made about $8,900 last year from his retail job. I had the same panic when I filled out the FAFSA - it felt like they were completely ignoring his income and I was convinced I had done something wrong. After reading all these responses about the student income protection allowance and how the IRS Data Retrieval Tool works, I finally understand why the form focuses so heavily on parent information. It's because that's what actually drives the calculation for dependent students! Based on what everyone is saying, it sounds like only about $1,300 of his income would even be above the protection threshold, so maybe $650 total impact on his SAI. That's so much better than I was fearing! Thank you all for explaining this - I was literally losing sleep over whether I had messed up his financial aid chances.