FAFSA calculated high SAI despite separate households - stepparent income confusion

same thing happened to my nephew! the system is BROKEN. they dont understand blended families AT ALL. did u try calling the financial aid office? sometimes they can override stuff if u explain

The issue is likely related to how FAFSA treats stepparents under the simplified FAFSA rules. Even though you maintain separate households and file taxes separately, FAFSA still considers the income of a stepparent if you're legally married - regardless of guardianship status or state residency differences. The SAI calculation looks at household income, and "household" in FAFSA terms often doesn't align with practical living situations. The fact that they only asked for his name but no financial details is concerning - they might be pulling his data from his own FAFSA application or through other data-sharing agreements. I recommend: 1. Contact your son's financial aid office to request a Professional Judgment review based on your special circumstances 2. Provide documentation of the separate households (utility bills, lease agreements, etc.) 3. Explain that your income alone qualified for poverty-level consideration 4. Ask specifically about the source of the income data that produced the high SAI

when I filled mine out this yr I got super confused with the household questions too lol. like how do they expect blended families to answer all that? the lady at my college told me sometimes they look at tax returns from different years too so maybe they're looking at old info? idk just a thought

You need to specifically request a "Dependency Override" or "Special Circumstances Review" from your son's financial aid office. This is exactly the type of situation those processes were created for. I dealt with something similar (though not identical) last year. The documentation required will likely include: - Copies of both separate leases/mortgages - Utility bills showing separate residences - Your separate tax returns - A detailed letter explaining the living situation - Documentation of your income from the retirement benefits The high SAI might be from them either 1) using incorrect household size calculations, 2) including the stepparent's income despite separate filing, or 3) not properly accounting for the non-taxable survivor benefits. One critical thing: make sure you're looking at the right year's FAFSA. The 2023-2024 FAFSA uses 2021 tax information, while the 2024-2025 FAFSA (which just became available) uses 2022 tax information. If you're looking at different years, that might explain the confusion.

i got so frustrated trying to reach someone at fafsa last month!!! after getting disconnected 3 times i finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through - they connected me to a real person at FSA in like 15 min. they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ for me it was worth it because the agent fixed my issue right away. sounds like you need to talk to someone directly about your situation

Isn't there an appeal process for special circumstances? I think my cousin had to do this when her parents divorced during the application process. The financial aid office at her school helped with paperwork. Something about a "professional judgment review" I think

Financial aid administrator here. A few important points: 1. For FAFSA purposes, stepparents ARE included in the household regardless of tax filing status or legal guardianship. This is a common misunderstanding. 2. That said, maintaining genuine separate households SHOULD be considered during a professional judgment review. 3. The fact that they only asked for his name but used his income suggests they likely obtained it through the IRS Data Retrieval Tool or other database matching. 4. For 2023-2024 FAFSA, non-taxable income like survivor benefits IS still counted in the calculation (this changes with the 2024-2025 FAFSA). 5. The solution is to request a Professional Judgment review at your son's school. Only the school (not FAFSA itself) can adjust the calculations based on your special circumstances. 6. Bring documentation of separate households (utility bills, leases, etc.) and be prepared to explain why the stepparent's income should not be included.

Yes, that's correct. FAFSA rules consider your marital status first, then look at who lives in the household. The fact that you file taxes separately doesn't change the FAFSA treatment, unfortunately. The separate households is your strongest argument for a professional judgment review. One more thing to check: make sure the household size was reported correctly. If it was reported as smaller than it actually is, that could also artificially inflate the SAI.