FAFSA 2025-2026 vs 2024-2025: Income up but SAI score decreased - what's happening?

Yes, there were significant formula changes between the two FAFSA cycles! The 2024-2025 FAFSA was the first simplified FAFSA with the FUTURE Act implementation, and they've continued to refine the formula for 2025-2026. The biggest changes affecting your situation are likely: 1. They increased the Income Protection Allowance amounts for 2025-2026, which means more of your income is shielded from the contribution calculation 2. The weighting for assets was adjusted slightly, which could benefit you if you have moderate savings/investments 3. The calculation for families with students in college changed - the 2025-2026 formula gives more favorable treatment for this situation So even though your income went up, these formula adjustments likely more than compensated for that increase, resulting in your lower SAI. It's not an error - it's intentional changes to make the formula more generous for middle-income families.

tHis happened to us too!!!! Income went up like 8k but SAI dropped by almost 2000 points. I called the financial aid ofice at my daughters school and they said its bcause of the formla changes. something about protection allowances??? idk the whole system is so confusing

The 2025-2026 FAFSA also changed how they treat multiple students in college. If you have more than one dependent in college, the SAI impact is different now. They stopped dividing the parent contribution by the number of students (which was the old method) and instead use a more complex calculation that still gives benefit for multiple students but not as drastically. But if you only have one student, then it's probably the Income Protection Allowance increase that helped you most.

Anyone else find it COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS how they keep changing the formula every year?!? How are families supposed to plan ahead when the rules keep changing? My oldest is a junior now and every single year we've had a completely different calculation. Last year was a nightmare with the delayed rollout, and now they're tweaking the formula again! I'm all for improvements but some consistency would be nice for planning purposes!

To directly answer your original question: You're experiencing the impact of several specific 2025-2026 FAFSA formula adjustments: 1. The Income Protection Allowance for a family of your size increased by approximately $4,000-5,000 depending on exact family composition 2. The Asset Protection Allowance was also adjusted upward 3. The assessment rate on income above the protection allowance was slightly reduced These three changes combined could easily result in a SAI reduction of $1,700+ even with a $5,200 income increase. The Department of Education made these adjustments based on economic data and inflation measures. Your result isn't an error - it's exactly what the formula changes were designed to do. I'd recommend using the official FSA Aid Estimator on studentaid.gov to model different scenarios for future years.

does anyone know if these changes affect pell grant eligibility too? my daughter's SAI went down similar to yours but we haven't seen any change in her pell grant amount...

Has anyone received their actual financial aid package for 2025-2026 yet? I'm curious if the lower SAI actually translates to better aid offers from schools. Our son's university usually sends packages in April.

One thing to keep in mind is that your SAI is just a guideline for schools. Each institution can still use their own formula (especially private colleges that might also use the CSS Profile), so a lower SAI doesn't automatically mean more aid at every school. But it's definitely a positive indicator, especially for federal aid eligibility.

I just wish they would EXPLAIN these changes clearly somewhere!!! The studentaid.gov website barely mentions formula changes, and when I called to ask about it last month, the rep couldn't explain ANYTHING about why my numbers changed. Just said "that's what the system calculated" as if that helps anyone. The lack of transparency is infuriating.

This is really reassuring to hear! We're dealing with the exact same situation - our SAI dropped from 8,243 to 6,890 even though our income increased by about $3,800. I was convinced there was an error and kept double-checking our tax information. It's such a relief to know this is actually working as intended due to the formula changes. The timing is perfect too since our daughter is transferring schools for fall 2025, so hopefully the lower SAI will help with aid at her new university. Has anyone else noticed if schools are being more generous with institutional aid this year, or is it too early to tell?

This is such a helpful thread! I'm a newcomer to this community and currently dealing with FAFSA for the first time as my daughter starts college in fall 2025. Reading through all these explanations about the formula changes really helps me understand what's happening with our numbers. I had no idea that the Income Protection Allowance and other factors were adjusted so significantly between cycles. Our situation is similar - income went up slightly but our SAI actually decreased, and I was worried we'd made some kind of mistake on the application. One question for the group: Are there any good resources you'd recommend for staying updated on future FAFSA changes? I want to be better prepared for next year's cycle and understand what might be coming. It sounds like planning ahead is really challenging with all these ongoing adjustments, but I'd rather be informed than caught off guard again. Thanks to everyone who's shared their experiences and knowledge here - this community seems like an amazing resource for navigating all of this!

Welcome to the community! As someone who's been through this process multiple times, I can tell you that the formula changes between 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 have been significant and largely beneficial for middle-income families like yours. What you're experiencing is completely normal and not an error. The Department of Education made several key adjustments for the 2025-2026 cycle: - Income Protection Allowances were increased substantially (around $4,000-5,000 for most family sizes) to account for inflation - Asset assessment rates were slightly reduced - The overall formula was refined to be more generous to families in your income bracket Your $1,775 SAI reduction despite a $5,200 income increase is actually a perfect example of these changes working as intended. The increased protection allowances more than offset your income growth, resulting in a lower expected contribution. For planning purposes, I'd suggest using the Federal Student Aid Estimator on studentaid.gov to model different scenarios for your son's remaining years. While we can't predict future formula changes with certainty, the current trajectory suggests the Department is committed to making college more affordable for working families. Your lower SAI should translate to better federal aid eligibility, and many schools will factor this into their institutional aid decisions as well. Definitely not something to worry about - this is exactly what the policy changes were designed to achieve!