FAFSA asking for scholarship amount reported as income - which box do I fill out?

This question specifically refers to scholarship money that was reported as income on your taxes. If you didn't report the scholarships as income (which most people don't have to), then enter 0 in this field. Scholarships are generally tax-free when used for qualified education expenses like tuition and required fees. If any portion was used for non-qualified expenses like room and board, that portion technically should have been reported as income on your taxes. If you didn't report any scholarship money as income, then the answer is 0.

wait but don't you have to report scholarships that go over the cost of tuition?? my brother had to put his extra scholarship money on his taxes last year when it went over his tuition amount

I HATE this question every year!!!! It trips up so many people. The financial aid system is deliberately confusing to prevent people from getting aid they deserve. I spent THREE HOURS on hold with the Federal Student Aid office trying to get clarification on this exact question last year because my son had a partial athletic scholarship where some went to room and board. Nobody can give a straight answer!!

This question is specifically for situations where students had to include scholarship/grant money as taxable income on their tax returns. Here's when you need to enter an amount: 1. If scholarship/grant money was used for non-qualified expenses (room, board, travel) 2. If you received more scholarship/grant money than you had qualified expenses 3. If you included AmeriCorps benefits as taxable income If none of these apply and you didn't report any scholarship money on your taxes (look at your 1040 form), then just enter 0. For most undergraduate students whose scholarships just cover tuition, this will be 0.

i put the wrong amount here last year and had to do a correction after submitting because i thought they wanted the TOTAL scholarship amount but they only want what was reported on taxes!!! our SAI came back wayyyy higher until i fixed it!!

My situation was weird because my son got a $15,000 scholarship and $8,000 of it went to housing so we did have to report that part on taxes. I remember this question being confusing because at first I just put 0 not realizing the housing portion counted as income. Just double check your 2022 tax return to be sure.

Just to clarify for everyone, here's the full explanation: 1. This field is ONLY for scholarship/grant money reported as taxable income 2. Most undergraduate scholarships that only cover tuition and fees are not taxable 3. Check your 2022 tax return (specifically Line 1 on Form 1040) for any scholarship income 4. If scholarships were used for room, board, or other non-qualified expenses, that portion should have been reported as income 5. If you didn't report any scholarship money as income, enter 0 This is one of the most commonly misunderstood questions on the FAFSA, so don't feel bad about being confused!

This is such a helpful thread! I'm a newcomer here and dealing with the same FAFSA question for my son's renewal application. Reading through all these explanations really cleared up my confusion - I was also thinking they wanted the total scholarship amount received, not just what was reported as taxable income. Since we used all scholarship funds for tuition and didn't report any as income on our 2022 taxes, I'll be entering 0. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and breaking this down so clearly!