FAFSA child support reporting when it ends mid-year - include as income?
So confused about reporting child support on my FAFSA for 2025-2026. I currently receive $650/month for my son, but payments will completely stop in May when he graduates high school. The FAFSA asks for 2023 income info, when I received the full amount ($7,800), but by the time aid is disbursed, I won't be receiving ANY child support. Do I still have to report all of it? Will this mess up my son's aid calculation since our actual income will be much lower than what we're reporting? Has anyone dealt with this situation before?
23 comments
Join the conversation
Seraphina Delan
Yes, you need to report the full $7,800 you received in 2023. FAFSA uses prior-prior year tax information (2023 data for the 2025-2026 application), regardless of future changes in income. However, there is a solution for your situation! After submitting your FAFSA, you can submit what's called a "Special Circumstances" appeal directly to your son's college financial aid office explaining that your income will be significantly reduced due to the child support ending. They have the authority to make professional judgment adjustments to your SAI calculation.
0 coins
Niko Ramsey
•Thank you! Should I wait to submit the special circumstances form until after we get the initial SAI calculation? Or should I contact schools right after submitting the FAFSA? I'm worried about missing out on aid because of this.
0 coins
Jabari-Jo
omg i had this EXACT same problem last year with my daughter!! it totally messed up her financial aid because they counted all the child support even tho it stopped. wish i knew about that special circumstances thing
0 coins
Kristin Frank
•Yep, happened to my nephew too. The whole system is ridiculously inflexible. Make sure you're super persistent with the financial aid office - they won't tell you about options unless you keep asking.
0 coins
Micah Trail
I went through this with my daughter last year. Here's exactly what you need to do: 1. Complete FAFSA with all 2023 income including child support 2. Print a copy of your child support order showing the termination date 3. Contact EACH school's financial aid office (not FAFSA directly) after submitting 4. Request their specific "Income Adjustment Form" or "Professional Judgment Form" 5. Submit documentation of the change in income Different schools handle these adjustments differently. Some will adjust your SAI immediately while others wait until after initial aid packages are sent. Be prepared to follow up multiple times - financial aid offices are swamped and these manual adjustments can get overlooked.
0 coins
Niko Ramsey
•This is SO helpful, thank you! I'll gather my child support documentation right away. Did your daughter's aid package change significantly after they made the adjustment?
0 coins
Nia Watson
Why not just leave it off the form? My friend did that with her investment income that ended and nobody ever questioned it. These formulas are already stacked against us so I say do what you need to do.
0 coins
Seraphina Delan
•Please don't do this. Intentionally omitting income on the FAFSA can be considered fraud. If discovered during verification (which is random but happens to about 30% of applicants), it could result in having to repay all aid plus penalties. The legitimate special circumstances process exists precisely for situations like this.
0 coins
Nia Watson
•Ok fine but the whole system is rigged anyway. I'm just saying what worked for someone I know.
0 coins
Alberto Souchard
I tried calling Federal Student Aid for three days straight to ask this exact question and kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent in about 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent confirmed what others are saying - you report all child support received in 2023, then submit a special circumstances form to each school. The agent also recommended getting a signed statement from the other parent confirming the support is ending, in addition to the court documents.
0 coins
Niko Ramsey
•Thank you for the tip! I'm going to check out that service because I've been trying to call FSA with other questions too and it's impossible to get through. Did they ask for any personal information beyond what you'd give FSA directly?
0 coins
Alberto Souchard
•No personal info beyond what you'd normally give when calling FSA yourself. It just helped me skip the 2+ hour wait time, which was a lifesaver with my work schedule.
0 coins
Katherine Shultz
THIS IS WHY THE SYSTEM IS SO BROKEN!!!! They use outdated income data that doesn't reflect your ACTUAL situation when your kid is in college. I'm in the reverse situation where I STARTED receiving child support in 2024 but it won't count on the FAFSA because they only look at 2023. So my SAI is artificially high and my daughter is getting screwed out of aid she deserves. I've written to my congressperson about this but of course NOTHING happens.
0 coins
Seraphina Delan
•You're absolutely right that the prior-prior year system creates challenges for families with changing circumstances. However, in your situation, you should also submit a special circumstances form to request a professional judgment review. The same process works for both increases and decreases in income that happen after the tax year used for FAFSA.
0 coins
Katherine Shultz
•Really? No one at my daughter's school mentioned this option when I called about it. Typical. I'm going to contact them tomorrow. THANK YOU!!!
0 coins
Niko Ramsey
Update: I spoke with my son's top choice school and they said they actually have a specific form for reporting ending child support! Apparently this is super common and they have a streamlined process. Just wanted to share for anyone else in this situation. They said to submit the FAFSA first with the full 2023 amount and then submit their supplemental form with documentation right after.
0 coins
Micah Trail
•That's great news! This is why it's so important to contact schools directly. Every financial aid office handles these situations somewhat differently. Make sure to ask each school about their specific process - don't assume they're all the same.
0 coins
Kristin Frank
my brother just went thru this exact thing. ended up getting way less aid because of the child support that stopped. total BS if u ask me. system is designed to screw over single parents.
0 coins
Jabari-Jo
•did he try appealing?? sounds like from the other comments thats what we're supposed to do but nobody tells you this stuff!!
0 coins
Seraphina Delan
One more important tip: When you submit your special circumstances documentation, include a clear month-by-month breakdown showing your projected income with and without the child support. Make it as simple as possible for the financial aid officers to understand the exact impact. Many schools have specific forms for this, but if they don't, create your own spreadsheet showing: - 2023 income including child support (FAFSA baseline) - 2025 projected income after child support ends - The percentage decrease in total income This makes it much easier for them to adjust your SAI appropriately and can speed up the review process considerably.
0 coins
Niko Ramsey
•This is brilliant advice. I'm creating a spreadsheet right now. Would it help to include our regular monthly expenses too, to show how much the loss of support will impact us?
0 coins
Seraphina Delan
•Generally no - for federal aid calculations, they're mainly concerned with the income change itself, not your expenses. However, if you have unusual medical expenses or other special circumstances beyond the child support ending, those could be relevant to include in your appeal.
0 coins
Arnav Bengali
I'm in almost the exact same situation! My child support ends in June when my daughter turns 18, but I had to report the full 2023 amount on our FAFSA. Reading through all these comments has been so helpful - I had no idea about the special circumstances appeals process. It's frustrating that this isn't explained anywhere obvious when you're filling out the FAFSA. I'm definitely going to contact her schools right after we submit to ask about their specific forms for income adjustments. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences - this community is a lifesaver for navigating this confusing process!
0 coins