FAFSA confusion: How to answer 'joint tax return' question when remarried but filed separately?
I'm completely stuck on the Parent Information section of the FAFSA for my daughter. The question asks 'Did or will the parent file a 2022 joint tax return with their current spouse?' When I click the info button, it says to select 'yes' if I filed a 2022 joint return with my current spouse, and 'no' if I filed jointly with a former spouse but am now married to someone else. Here's my situation: I'm remarried (about 5 years now), but my husband and I filed as 'married filing separately' for 2022. My daughter's biological father has been completely out of the picture for over 10 years and doesn't provide any support. Should I select 'yes' because I'm currently married, even though we didn't file jointly? Or 'no' because we technically didn't file a joint return? I'm worried about getting flagged for verification if I answer incorrectly!
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ShadowHunter
The answer should be 'No' since you didn't file a joint tax return with your current spouse. The question is specifically asking about your tax filing status, not your marital status. Since you filed as 'married filing separately,' you should select 'no' for this question. Just make sure you're consistent with reporting both your income and your current spouse's income in the appropriate sections since both are considered for your daughter's financial aid calculation.
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Chloe Taylor
•Thank you! That makes sense. Will both our incomes still be counted for her SAI calculation even though we filed separately? I just want to make sure I'm getting this right.
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Diego Ramirez
I had this EXACT same situation omg!! I was so confused too. I put 'no' since me and my husband did the married filing separately thing. But then I got selected for verification and had to submit a bunch of extra docs. So annoying! Make sure you keep ALL your tax docs handy just in case.
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Chloe Taylor
•Oh no! That's exactly what I'm worried about. Did they eventually accept your information or did you have to correct anything? How long did the verification process take?
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Diego Ramirez
•It took like 6 weeks for them to process everything! But they did accept it, I didn't have to change anything. Just had to upload like both our W-2s and tax transcripts and stuff. Such a pain!
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Anastasia Sokolov
As someone who works with financial aid applications, I can confirm the other responses. Select 'No' when you filed as married filing separately. But be aware: the FAFSA will still require your current spouse's financial information even though you filed taxes separately. Both incomes are considered in the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation regardless of tax filing status. This is a common confusion point that leads to verification selections, so be extra careful to accurately report all income from both you and your current spouse throughout the application.
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Chloe Taylor
•Thank you so much for confirming! This makes me feel better. So even though I select 'no' for that specific question, I still need to include both our income information throughout the rest of the application, correct?
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Anastasia Sokolov
•That's exactly right. Answer 'no' to the joint filing question, but make sure you include both your income and your current spouse's income in all the appropriate parent income sections. The FAFSA considers the income and assets of both legal parents in the household, regardless of how you filed taxes.
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Sean O'Connor
I think you need to put 'yes' because your MARRIED!! The question is asking about if your current married not how u filed taxes. That's what my sons college advisor told us to do.
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ShadowHunter
•This is incorrect. The question specifically asks if they 'filed a joint tax return' with their current spouse, not whether they're currently married. Since they filed as 'married filing separately,' the correct answer is 'no'. Financial aid officers look at your actual tax filing status, not just marital status.
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Zara Ahmed
I've been trying to call the Federal Student Aid office for WEEKS about a similar issue with my stepson's FAFSA and kept getting disconnected or waiting hours. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got through to a live agent in 20 minutes who confirmed that for 'married filing separately' you should answer 'no' to the joint tax return question, but you still need to report both parents' incomes. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ - saved me so much frustration!
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Chloe Taylor
•Thank you for this! I might actually need to call them if I run into more issues. The wait times are so frustrating - especially when I'm trying to get this done before my daughter's college deadlines.
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Luca Conti
•does this actually work? ive been on hold with fsa like 3 times and gave up each time lol. might try this if it actually gets you through faster
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Nia Johnson
The 2025-2026 FAFSA is so much more confusing than it used to be! I'm filling it out for my third kid now, and I swear they made it harder with all these "simplifications." For your question, definitely select "NO" since you filed separately. But FYI - they'll still use both your income AND your current spouse's income to calculate the SAI (Student Aid Index). Make sure you enter both incomes correctly or it'll create problems later. We got flagged for verification last year over a similar issue and it delayed my son's financial aid package by almost 2 months.
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Chloe Taylor
•Thank you for sharing your experience! It's definitely more complicated than I expected. Do you remember what sections specifically asked for your spouse's income information? I want to make sure I don't miss anything.
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Nia Johnson
•You'll be asked to enter income information for both parents in the household. There will be specific sections for Parent 1 and Parent 2 where you'll enter AGI, income earned from work, and other financial details for both you and your current spouse. Just make sure the numbers match what's on your tax returns and W-2s. Double-check everything before submitting!
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Luca Conti
my sister had this EXACT problem!! she said answer NO and then make sure u put both incomes in the right spots. they still want to know about both parents income even if u filed taxes separate.
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Chloe Taylor
•Thanks for sharing what your sister did! It seems like everyone is saying the same thing, so I feel more confident now.
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CyberNinja
Question- does your current spouse contribute to your daughters expenses at all? I think that might matter too for dependent status stuff? Just wondering.
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Anastasia Sokolov
•The current spouse's contributions to the student's expenses don't actually affect this specific question about tax filing status. Since they're married and living together, both parents' incomes are considered for the FAFSA regardless of who directly pays the student's expenses. The dependent status determination is based on different criteria related to the student's relationship to their parents, not the financial contributions.
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Omar Farouk
Just wanted to add my perspective as someone who went through this recently! I was in almost the exact same situation - remarried for 4 years but filed separately. I selected "No" for the joint tax return question and made sure to include both my income and my current spouse's income in all the parent sections. My daughter's FAFSA went through without any issues and we didn't get selected for verification. The key is being consistent - answer "No" to the joint filing question since that's literally what your tax status was, but then make absolutely sure you're reporting both household incomes accurately throughout the rest of the application. Don't overthink it - the question is asking about your actual tax filing status, not your marital status!
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