FAFSA confusion: Should savings account in my name but for my son count on his application or mine?

This is a common misunderstanding with FAFSA. If the account is legally in your name (you're the owner), then it counts as YOUR asset, not your son's - even if the money is intended for his education. This matters because parent/contributor assets are assessed at a much lower rate (around 5.64%) than student assets (20%). Report it in your contributor section of the FAFSA, not on your son's section. This is actually better for your son's aid eligibility since less of the money will count against his aid calculation.

I made this EXACT mistake last year and it totally screwed up our SAI calculation!!! The financial aid office made us submit a correction and it delayed my daughter's aid package by like 6 weeks. They told us that ANY account where the parent is the owner counts as a parental asset - doesn't matter what the money is for. Put it on YOUR section.

Actually I think ur supposed to list it on both? Thats wat the fafsa lady told me at the college workshop. Since its ur account but its for him its counted twice. Thats how they did mine anyways

Here's the official guidance: Assets are reported based on ownership, not intention. Since you're the account owner, it's YOUR asset for FAFSA purposes. The good news is that parent-owned assets are assessed at a much lower rate than student assets in the SAI formula (only about 5.64% vs 20% for student assets), so this actually works in your favor! Report it in the "Parent Assets" section, question 41.

I tried calling the Federal Student Aid helpline about this exact question last month and was on hold for LITERALLY two hours before getting disconnected. So frustrating! Has anyone actually gotten through to a real person there recently?

This whole system is DESIGNED to be confusing!!! My theory is they make the rules complicated on purpose so people make mistakes and get less aid. I've filled out FAFSA forms for 3 kids now and EVERY SINGLE YEAR there's some new confusing thing. But yes, the account goes on YOUR part of the form since you legally own it. And btw - if you had put that money in a 529 plan instead of a regular savings account, it would STILL be your asset, but you'd get tax benefits too.

I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who responded! I'm going to report the savings account on my section of the FAFSA form. It's such a relief to understand this correctly before submitting. I had no idea the parent/student asset assessment rates were so different (5.64% vs 20%). If I'd reported it wrong, we could have lost thousands in potential aid. Really appreciate this community's help!!

As someone who just went through this process with my daughter, I can confirm everything that's been said here is correct! The key thing to remember is "ownership determines reporting" - since you're the legal owner of the account, it goes in your contributor section regardless of the money's intended purpose. I made a spreadsheet to track all our assets and their FAFSA treatment, and it really helped avoid confusion. Also, double-check that you're using the correct "as of" date for reporting asset values - it should be the date you sign and submit the FAFSA, not when you started filling it out. The $14,500 will only contribute about $817 to your SAI calculation at the 5.64% parent asset rate, which is much better than the $2,900 it would have added if mistakenly reported as a student asset!

Just wanted to add my experience as a financial aid counselor - this is one of the most frequently asked questions we get! The confusion is totally understandable because it seems counterintuitive. But yes, everyone here is absolutely correct: if YOU are the legal account holder, it's YOUR asset for FAFSA purposes, period. The intent doesn't matter, only legal ownership. I always tell parents this is actually a blessing in disguise because of that lower assessment rate (5.64% vs 20%). One more tip: if you have multiple children and separate savings accounts for each in your name, you'll report the TOTAL of all those accounts in your parent assets section. The FAFSA doesn't ask you to break down which money is "for" which child - it just cares about your total reportable assets as the contributor.