FAFSA asking for 2023 taxes but I only filed 2023 taxes this year (2024) - what do I report?
My daughter is applying to colleges and working on her FAFSA application. She's at the part asking for our 2023 tax information (for the 2024-2025 school year), but I'm confused about what to enter. I didn't file taxes in 2023 for the 2022 tax year - I only filed this year (2024) for my 2023 income. The form specifically asks for 'Parents' adjusted gross income (AGI) for 2023' - does this mean the taxes I just filed a few months ago? The whole tax year vs. filing year thing is so confusing with FAFSA! I'm worried about messing up her financial aid by entering the wrong information. Any help would be appreciated!
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CosmicCowboy
Yes, FAFSA is asking for the 2023 tax year information - which is what you filed in 2024. The FAFSA for the 2024-2025 academic year uses your 2023 tax information (the return you just filed this year). So you're actually in good shape! Just use the numbers from the tax return you filed a few months ago in 2024 (which reports your 2023 income). The form is asking for the right year's information, it's just confusing in how they word it.
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Oliver Becker
•Oh thank goodness! That makes so much more sense. So I'll just use the AGI from the taxes I filed this April for 2023? Perfect - I was overthinking this. Thanks for clearing it up!
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Natasha Orlova
its the taxes u just did. the 2023 income tax that u filed in 2024. they want the AGI number from that form. on 1040 form its line 11 I think.
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Javier Cruz
•Actually it's important to be precise here. The FAFSA for 2024-2025 requires the 2023 tax year information (which most people filed in early 2024). The confusion happens because people talk about "2023 taxes" when they mean either: 1. Taxes FILED in 2023 (which would be for 2022 income) 2. Taxes FOR 2023 income (which were filed in 2024) FAFSA wants #2 - your 2023 income information that you reported on the tax return you likely filed by April 15, 2024.
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Emma Thompson
I HATE how the FAFSA form is worded!!!! I made this exact same mistake last year and my son's financial aid got delayed because I entered the wrong year's tax info. The whole system is designed to confuse parents! And don't even get me started on their new "simpler" FAFSA this year which is MORE complicated!
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Malik Jackson
•YES!! The new FAFSA is a NIGHTMARE! My daughter couldn't even get logged in for like 2 months and now we're rushing to finish everything. Their "improvements" made everything worse. 🤦♀️
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Isabella Costa
Something else to consider - I notice in your screenshot there's also a question about household size in 2023. Make sure you're reporting your household size as it was in 2023, not your current household size if it's changed. Same with the California partnership question - that's referring to status in 2023. And for the housing question - if your daughter is even remotely considering on-campus housing, I'd recommend selecting "Yes" since it's easier to decline housing later than to try getting it after initially saying no.
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Oliver Becker
•That's really helpful advice about the housing question! She's not sure yet if she wants to live on campus, so I'll mark "Yes" to keep that option open. I didn't think about that.
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StarSurfer
when i was doing my sons fafsa last month i kept getting disconnected from the irs data retrieval tool thingy. anyone know how to make that work? it's supposed to pull your tax info automatically but it kept timing out or saying error
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Ravi Malhotra
•I had the same problem! After trying for DAYS, I finally used Claimyr to get through to an actual FAFSA representative on the phone. They have a service where they call the Federal Student Aid office and wait on hold for you, then call you when an agent is on the line. Saved me hours of frustration! Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent I spoke with explained that sometimes the IRS connection fails if there's high volume. They helped me manually enter my tax information instead.
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Malik Jackson
Wait I'm confused... are we supposed to use 2022 or 2023 taxes for FAFSA this year? My daughter is also a HS senior and I thought it was 2022 taxes we filed last year?? Did I do hers completely wrong??
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Javier Cruz
•You need to use 2023 tax information (filed in 2024) for the 2024-2025 FAFSA. If you used 2022 tax information (filed in 2023), you should go back and correct your daughter's FAFSA as soon as possible. The FAFSA always uses the "prior-prior year" tax information, so for the 2024-2025 academic year, that means 2023 taxes.
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Natasha Orlova
btw that question about parent education level affects some state grants. if ur a first generation college student (parents didnt graduate college) ur kid might get extra money in some states. dont skip that part
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Isabella Costa
•That's correct! The parent education level question doesn't affect federal aid calculations or your SAI score, but it absolutely can impact state-based aid and certain institutional scholarships. Many colleges have specific grants for first-generation students. It's part of the FAFSA information that gets passed along to the schools where your student applies.
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Oliver Becker
Thank you all for the helpful information! I'm going to use our 2023 tax return (the one we filed in April 2024) for the FAFSA. One more question - does anyone know how long processing takes once we submit? My daughter wants to apply Early Decision to her top choice, and their financial aid deadline is coming up soon.
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CosmicCowboy
•Processing times have been longer this year with the new FAFSA system. Expect 2-3 weeks for your SAI (Student Aid Index, which replaced the old EFC) to be calculated and sent to schools. For Early Decision, I'd submit no later than 3-4 weeks before their financial aid deadline to be safe. Make sure your daughter lists that school first on her FAFSA college list - it doesn't technically matter for federal aid, but some schools pay attention to their position on your list when making institutional aid decisions.
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Dominique Adams
Just wanted to add a quick tip for anyone else dealing with this confusion - I keep a simple note on my phone that says "FAFSA 2024-25 = use 2023 tax return (filed in 2024)" because I always forget which year goes with which! The Department of Education really should make this clearer on their forms. Also, if you're using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool and it's not working, you can always enter the information manually - just make sure you have your tax return handy and double-check the numbers before submitting.
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Emma Bianchi
•That's such a smart idea about keeping a note on your phone! I'm definitely going to do that because this whole tax year thing trips me up every time. And good point about the manual entry - I was so focused on getting the IRS tool to work that I didn't even think about just typing the numbers in myself. Sometimes the simple solution is right there! Thanks for the practical advice.
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Ava Martinez
As someone who just went through this process with my twins, I can confirm everyone's advice is correct! Use your 2023 tax return that you filed in 2024. One thing I'll add - if you're self-employed or have any business income, make sure you're using the correct AGI line from your 1040. It's line 11 on the current form. Also, don't stress too much about minor mistakes - you can always go back and make corrections to the FAFSA after you submit it. The schools will usually let you know if something looks off and needs to be fixed. Good luck with your daughter's applications!
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Jason Brewer
•Thank you so much for sharing your experience with twins - that must have been double the work! I really appreciate everyone confirming that we should use the 2023 tax return. The AGI line tip is super helpful too - I'll make sure to look at line 11 on our 1040. It's reassuring to know we can make corrections later if needed. This whole process feels so overwhelming when it's your first time, but all of your advice is making it much less scary!
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Oscar Murphy
One thing that really helped me when I was filling out FAFSA for my son last year was to have all the documents organized before starting - your 2023 tax return, bank statements, investment records, etc. The FAFSA will ask for specific numbers and having everything in one place makes it so much easier! Also, if you're married filing jointly, make sure you're using the combined AGI from your joint return, not trying to separate out individual incomes. The form can be confusing but once you get through it the first time, it becomes much clearer for future years. Your daughter is lucky to have a parent who's being so careful about getting it right!
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Lauren Wood
•This is such great advice about having all documents organized beforehand! I wish I had thought of that earlier - I've been scrambling to find different papers while trying to fill out the form. The tip about using the combined AGI for joint filers is really important too, I can see how that could easily trip someone up. It's reassuring to hear that it gets easier in future years since we'll likely be doing this again for my daughter's younger sibling in a couple of years. Thanks for taking the time to share these practical tips!
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