FAFSA asking for divorced parent who doesn't contribute - what income do I report?

In the same boat. My parents are divorced & FAFSA screwed me over by counting my dad's income even tho he hasnt paid a dime for anything since i was 14. got way less aid than i shouldve bcuz of this stupid rule. good luck.

For FAFSA purposes, you need to report the income of the parent you lived with most during the past 12 months. If you lived with your mom more than 50% of the time, then you only report her income - not your dad's. The legal custody arrangement doesn't matter for FAFSA, it's about physical custody and where you actually lived. If you split time exactly 50/50, then you report the parent who provided more financial support. Check the dependency worksheet on studentaid.gov for confirmation.

This situation is EXACTLY why I hate the FAFSA system. They assume all these picture-perfect families where divorced parents both help their kids. My stepdaughter went through this last year and got screwed out of $8000 in grants because her deadbeat dad's income was counted even though he hasn't given us a DIME in 8 years. The whole system is designed to PUNISH children of divorce! We ended up having to take out Parent PLUS loans to cover what grants should have paid for. The financial aid office just shrugged and said "sorry, those are the federal rules." INFURIATING!!!

My cousin dealt with this last year. Call your school's financial aid office and ask about a "special circumstances appeal" or "professional judgment request" - thats what its officially called. You'll need documentation proving your dad doesnt contribute financially. They might adjust your SAI score if you can prove it.

I've been trying to reach someone at the Federal Student Aid office for weeks about a similar issue with my FAFSA and kept getting disconnected. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual FSA agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ showing how it works. The agent I talked to confirmed that I could file a special circumstances form with my school to explain why my non-custodial parent's information shouldn't be included. Saved me weeks of frustration trying to get answers.

Financial aid counselor here. For 2025-2026 FAFSA applications, there's a specific process for your situation under the new SAI calculation methods. You need to: 1. Complete the FAFSA with your custodial parent (mom)'s information only 2. After submission, immediately contact your college's financial aid office to file a "Special Circumstances Form" explaining the non-custodial parent situation 3. Provide documentation showing your mom provides more than 50% of your support (her tax returns, bills she pays, health insurance coverage, etc.) 4. Ask specifically for a "Dependency Override" or "Professional Judgment Review" Each school handles these differently, but most have a standardized process. The key is documenting that your non-custodial parent provides no financial support. Be persistent and follow up regularly - these reviews often take 3-4 weeks to process.

Am I the only one who thinks its weird the FAFSA cares about parents income at all? Like I'm 19 and my parents aren't paying for college but their income still counts against me?? How does that make any sense? My friend's parents make good money but refuse to help her with college and she got barely any aid. The whole system is broken.

Quick update on the divorce/FAFSA rules for 2025-2026: With the new simplified FAFSA, they primarily want information from the parent who provided more financial support in the last 12 months, regardless of custody arrangement. If you're unsure which parent provided more support, they use the one who had you for more days during the year. Importantly, they no longer automatically include step-parent income in certain situations, which is a big change from previous years. The FAFSA guidance specifically mentions that non-custodial parents who provide no support shouldn't affect your SAI calculation.

when i was filling out my fafsa a couple weeks ago the instruction said to report the parent who i lived with more during the past 12 months. so if thats your mom, just report her? the system seems pretty straight forward unless im missing something

I went through this exact situation two years ago! The key thing to understand is that the new FAFSA rules prioritize which parent provides MORE financial support, not just custody arrangements. Since your mom provides 100% of your support and your dad contributes nothing, you should only report your mom's income initially. However, I'd recommend being proactive - start gathering documentation NOW showing your mom's sole financial support (her tax returns claiming you as dependent, receipts for major expenses like medical/school costs, etc.) in case you need to file a special circumstances appeal later. Also, reach out to the financial aid offices at your target schools early to explain your situation - many are familiar with divorced parent issues and can walk you through their specific process. Don't let your dad's income on paper destroy your aid eligibility when he's not actually contributing!