FAFSA asking for new husband's 2023 tax info though we married in 2024 - Help!

ur married now so he counts. FAFSA looks at ur current household situation but uses past tax info. weird system but thats how it works. they want BOTH ur 2023 taxes even tho u werent married then

I went through this exact thing last year! Got married in August 2023 but had to submit 2022 taxes. The FAFSA requires current household members' previous tax info even if you weren't together then. It's super frustrating but you definitely need to include his information or the application will be incomplete.

This is one of the most common points of confusion with FAFSA. Your marital status is reported as of the day you complete the FAFSA, but the tax information comes from the prior-prior year (2023 for the 2025-2026 FAFSA). Since you're currently married, both you and your spouse must report tax information, even though you weren't married when those taxes were filed. The reasoning is that FAFSA wants to capture your current household financial situation, using the most recently completed tax year as the basis. Unfortunately, this can sometimes create scenarios like yours where the household composition has changed significantly.

THESE FAFSA PEOPLE MAKE ME WANT TO SCREAM!!!! I had the SAME EXACT issue when I married my husband. His income from BEFORE we were married counted against my son's aid package even though my husband doesn't support my son financially AT ALL!!! They ended up calculating our SAI higher and my son got WAY less aid than he should have. The whole system is RIGGED against parents who remarry. So unfair!!!!

Financial aid counselor here - yes, you must include your current spouse's 2023 tax information. This is because FAFSA bases eligibility on your current household composition but uses prior-prior year tax data (2023 taxes for 2025-2026 aid year). A few important points: 1. You'll need to manually combine your tax information if you filed separately in 2023 2. Your household size now includes your spouse 3. Your Student Aid Index (SAI) will likely be affected by this additional income 4. If this creates a significant hardship, contact your daughter's school financial aid office after submitting FAFSA - they can sometimes make professional judgment adjustments for special circumstances The system isn't designed to handle these transitions perfectly, but schools do have some flexibility to consider your specific situation.

I spent THREE DAYS trying to get through to someone at Federal Student Aid to explain this exact issue last year! Kept getting disconnected or sitting on hold forever. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that held my place in line and got me connected to an actual FSA agent who explained everything. Saved me hours of frustration. They have a demo video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent confirmed what others are saying - you need current household info with prior year taxes. It's confusing but that's how the system works.

btw when you talk to the financial aid office bring documentation about when you got married and maybe explain your husband's financial situation. my friend's daughter got some adjustment after her mom remarried because they showed the step-dad was still financially supporting his own kids from previous marriage.

also make sure ur filling out the fafsa right. the new version is confusing af and I kept entering stuff wrong. double check all ur contributor info cuz mistakes can delay processing

One more thing to consider - if your marriage happens to dissolve before your daughter begins school (not wishing this on you at all, just providing complete information), you can request a recalculation of the SAI based on changed circumstances. Similarly, any significant change in income (job loss, major reduction in hours) can be grounds for reassessment. The SAI calculation is a starting point, but financial aid offices have some flexibility to address unique situations.

This is such a frustrating situation that so many blended families face! I went through something similar when my partner and I got married mid-year. The FAFSA system really doesn't handle these life transitions well. One thing that helped us was creating a detailed timeline showing when we got married vs. the tax year in question, plus documentation of our separate household expenses during 2023. When we met with the financial aid office, having all that paperwork ready made it easier for them to understand our situation. Also, don't forget that your household size increased when you got married - that can sometimes help offset some of the income impact on your SAI calculation. Hang in there, it's worth pushing through the frustration to get your daughter's aid sorted out!