FAFSA confusion - Recent divorce but filing joint taxes - Who should be the contributor?

You're encountering what's called a "date of separation" issue with the FAFSA. Since your divorce was finalized after January 1, 2025, but before the FAFSA submission, you have options. The FAFSA specifically asks about your marital status on the day you submit the application. If you're divorced on submission day, you'd only report your income, not your ex's. The child support does need to be reported as untaxed income, but your ex-spouse's income wouldn't be included if you're legally divorced when submitting. The joint tax return does complicate things, but the FAFSA is more concerned with your current status plus the tax information.

Don't listen to the counselor!!! If you file jointly for taxes then BOTH incomes have to be reported on FAFSA. I tried to do what your talking about last year and got flagged for verification and it delayed my daughters financial aid by 2 months. They made me submit both incomes anyway.

Your marital status on the day you submit the FAFSA is what matters most. Since your divorce is final as of January 10th, 2025, you would select "divorced/separated" on the FAFSA. The system will then only ask for your income information. However, since you filed taxes jointly, you'll need to separate out just your income from the joint return. This might trigger verification, but it's completely legitimate according to FAFSA rules. I would recommend you download the FAFSA PDF worksheet first (available on studentaid.gov) and work through calculating just your portion of the income before entering it into the actual online form. This will help if you get selected for verification later, as you'll already have your calculations documented.

i went thru something similar last yr with my divorce but it was finalized in november. the fafsa people kept sending me back and forth between departments and i couldn't get a straight answer. wasted like 3 weeks just trying to talk to someone who knew what they were talking about!!

The FAFSA is SUCH a nightmare for divorced families!!! My daughter is a sophomore now and we've been dealing with this garbage for two years. The schools all have different policies too which makes it WORSE. Some wanted both parents' info even though we were divorced and some only wanted the primary parent. If your school uses the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA, prepare for even MORE complications because they have completely different rules!!! 😤😤😤

sounds like your situation is similar to mine last year. don't stress too much, even if you get selected for verification (we did) it's manageable. just submit what they ask for and they'll sort it out. my daughter still got her aid package by april.

According to the Federal Student Aid guidelines, you should report your marital status as of the day you're completing the FAFSA. Since your divorce was finalized on January 10th and you're filling it out now, you would select "divorced/separated" and only include your income information. However, since you filed taxes jointly for the previous year, you'll need to separate out just your portion of the income (your W-2 amount plus any other income specifically attributable to you). The fact that your son lived with you the majority of the time confirms you as the primary parent for FAFSA purposes. You should report the child support as untaxed income. Just be prepared that this situation might trigger verification, in which case you'll need to provide your divorce decree, W-2, and possibly a letter explaining how you separated the income from the joint tax return. The SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation will likely be more favorable using just your income rather than both parents, which could increase aid eligibility.

my niece had the exact same thing happen. divorce happened Dec 26 but after she did FAFSA already with both parents. She had to go in and CORRECT the FAFSA after to change to just 1 parent. You can submit corrections anytime even after you submit the first time

I'm a financial aid counselor and want to clarify something important that might help reduce your stress. Since your divorce was finalized on January 10th, 2025, and you're submitting the FAFSA after that date, you are absolutely correct to report yourself as divorced and only include your income information. The joint tax filing from 2024 is completely separate from your current marital status for FAFSA purposes. Here's what you need to do: 1) Select "divorced/separated" as your marital status, 2) Report only YOUR income from the joint tax return (use your W-2 and any other income specifically yours), 3) Include the $1,850/month child support as untaxed income, and 4) Since your son lived with you the majority of the time, you are definitely the correct parent to complete the FAFSA. Don't let the joint tax return worry you - this is a common situation we see every year. If you're selected for verification, just have your divorce decree, your W-2, and a simple explanation of how you calculated your portion of the joint return ready to submit. Your son's aid eligibility will likely be much better using just your income rather than both parents' combined income from when you were married.

I went through something very similar last year with my daughter's FAFSA! We were divorced in December but had filed taxes jointly for that year. I was so confused about what to report, but it turned out the key thing is your marital status on the day you submit the FAFSA, not your tax filing status. Since you're legally divorced now, you should definitely report as divorced and only include your income. One tip that really helped me - I made a simple spreadsheet showing how I separated my income from our joint return (basically just my W-2 wages plus my portion of any joint investment income). When we got selected for verification, having that documentation ready made the process much smoother. The financial aid office actually complimented me on being so organized! Don't stress too much about the joint tax return - the verification officers see this situation all the time. Your son's aid package will likely be much better with just your income reported. Good luck!

I'm going through a very similar situation right now with my own son's FAFSA! We got divorced in November but also filed taxes jointly for 2024. I was initially so confused about what to report, but after talking to our high school's financial aid advisor and doing a lot of research, I learned that the key is your marital status on the day you submit the FAFSA, not how you filed taxes. Since your divorce was finalized on January 10th and you're submitting now, you should definitely select "divorced/separated" and only report your income. The joint tax return might seem like a red flag, but it's actually very common according to the financial aid office at my son's top choice school. What really helped me was creating a simple breakdown showing exactly how I calculated my portion from our joint return - basically my W-2 wages plus half of any joint investment income (since our divorce decree split everything 50/50). I'd recommend doing something similar with your documentation so you're prepared if you get selected for verification. The good news is that your son's aid eligibility should be much better with just your income rather than both parents combined! Hang in there - I know it's stressful but you're doing the right thing.

I'm dealing with a somewhat similar situation with my daughter's FAFSA this year - divorce finalized in December but we also filed jointly for 2024. After reading through all these responses, I wanted to add that it's worth double-checking your divorce decree to see if it specifies anything about financial aid forms or college expenses. Ours actually included language about how to handle the FAFSA, which made things clearer when we had questions. Also, if your son is applying to schools that use the CSS Profile in addition to FAFSA, definitely check their individual policies now rather than later. Some schools have their own interpretations of how to handle divorced parents, and a few even have online calculators that can help you estimate aid with different scenarios. It might give you peace of mind to see the potential difference between reporting just your income versus both parents. You're definitely on the right track reporting as divorced with just your income. The verification process isn't as scary as it sounds - just be organized with your documentation and you'll be fine!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share my experience since I went through something very similar last year with my twin daughters' FAFSAs. My divorce was finalized in late January, but we had also filed taxes jointly for the previous year. I was terrified about making the wrong choice and messing up their aid eligibility! After consulting with multiple financial aid offices and doing tons of research, I learned that the FAFSA really does go by your marital status on the submission date - not your tax filing status. Since your divorce was final on January 10th, you're absolutely correct to report as divorced and include only your income. One thing that really helped me was calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center directly (1-800-433-3243) to confirm my understanding before submitting. They walked me through the exact scenario and confirmed that separated income from a joint return is completely acceptable as long as you can document how you calculated it. I also created a simple one-page summary showing my W-2 income plus my portion of any joint accounts/investments, which made verification much smoother when we were selected. Both my daughters ended up with significantly better aid packages than they would have gotten with both parents' income included. Don't let the stress overwhelm you - you're handling this exactly right, and financial aid offices deal with post-divorce timing issues constantly. Your son is lucky to have such a dedicated parent advocating for his education!

Welcome to the community! I'm in a very similar boat - my divorce was finalized in December but we also filed jointly for 2024. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful, especially hearing from the financial aid counselor and parents who've been through this exact situation. One thing I wanted to add that might help - I just discovered that some schools have specific worksheets for divorced parents who filed jointly. When I called my daughter's top choice school directly, they actually emailed me a simple form that walks you through separating your income from the joint return. It might be worth reaching out to your son's schools directly to see if they have similar resources. Also, I've been keeping a detailed folder with our divorce decree, both W-2s, and a breakdown of how we're splitting any joint income. Even though it feels like overkill, reading everyone's verification experiences makes me think being over-prepared is definitely the way to go! It sounds like you're absolutely doing the right thing reporting as divorced with just your income. The timing is tough, but at least your son should benefit from a much better aid calculation. Good luck with the submission tonight!