FAFSA confusion about reporting veteran's tax-free income, SSDI, and non-filing spouse status

You definitely need to report all income regardless of whether it's taxable or not. The FAFSA is looking at your family's financial situation, not just what's taxable. 1. Yes, report all military retirement benefits and SSDI in the "Untaxed Income" section 2. Savings from those benefits are considered assets and must be reported in the assets section 3. Since you don't file taxes, you'll select "Will not file" on the tax filing status question, but you still report the income in other sections 4. SSDI and SSI are different programs - SSDI is not reported under SSI. Medicare and Medicaid are also different - Medicare is not reported under Medicaid 5. Yes, you need to provide information for both parents if you're married, even if you have no income Hope this helps! The FAFSA can be confusing for non-tax filers with special situations.

my uncle was in a similar situation with VA benefits. u def need to put down ALL the money u get even if its not taxed. they gonna ask about bank accounts too so make sure u put all that down. dont try to hide any money cuz they check that stuff and itll just make the whole process take longer for ur kid

As someone who works with military families on FAFSA applications, I can provide some clarification: - Your husband's tax-free military retirement benefits should be reported in the "Untaxed Income" section - SSDI is reported as untaxed income as well, but is NOT the same as SSI (which is a different program) - Medicare is NOT the same as Medicaid - don't report Medicare under Medicaid benefits - Since you don't file taxes, you'll select "Will not file" but you must still report all income received - Both parents' information is required on FAFSA even if one has no income One important note: when you select "Will not file" but report significant income, the FAFSA system may flag your application for verification. This is normal and doesn't mean you've done anything wrong - just be prepared to provide documentation of the benefits when requested by your daughter's school.

from my experience, you HAVE to list all the military retirement pay AND the SSDI as income even tho its not taxed. my son's financial aid got messed up because i didnt do this right the first time and we had to do a whole appeal process that took FOREVER!!!

I had similar issues calling the Federal Student Aid helpline about my son's FAFSA when reporting my husband's VA disability pay. The phone wait times were insane and I kept getting disconnected. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an actual person at FSA who explained exactly how to report everything. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ The agent explained that for the tax-free benefits, you report them in the untaxed income section, and both parents need to be listed even if one hasn't worked. Also confirmed SSDI is different from SSI (don't report it as SSI) and Medicare is not the same as Medicaid.

UGHHH the FAFSA is SO FRUSTRATING for military families!!!! They make it IMPOSSIBLE to figure out where to put things. My husband is also a disabled vet and I swear I spent WEEKS trying to figure out how to fill out the stupid form correctly. The system is NOT designed for non-tax-filers with VA benefits!!!!

Just to follow up on your specific questions: 1. For reporting the untaxed income amount, use the total annual benefit amount from both the VA and SSDI statements 2. For savings/assets, report the balance as of the date you complete the FAFSA - they want current balances, not averages 3. When you select "Will not file" taxes, the system will skip the questions about specific tax form lines, but will still ask about untaxed income in a different section 4. Make sure you check for errors before submitting - small mistakes can delay processing by weeks Finally, if your daughter has any special circumstances or if your income has changed significantly since 2023, she can request a Professional Judgment review from the financial aid office at her school after receiving her aid offer.

After submitting the FAFSA, I would recommend contacting each college's financial aid office directly to explain your unique situation with the veteran benefits and SSDI. Many schools have special processes for military families, and some even have dedicated military/veteran financial aid counselors who can help ensure everything is processed correctly. Keep all your documentation organized and ready to submit - this typically includes: - VA benefit statements - Social Security benefit statements - Bank statements showing current balances - A written explanation of your non-tax-filing status Being proactive with the financial aid offices can make a huge difference in how quickly and accurately your daughter's aid is processed.

when we did my brothers fafsa with his va benefits we had to get a letter from the va showing exactly what he got for the year. might wanna get that now so u have it ready when they ask for verificashun

I'm new to this community but dealing with a very similar situation! My husband is also a disabled veteran receiving both VA disability compensation and SSDI, and we're non-filers. After reading through all these helpful responses, I wanted to add that you should also check if your state has any special financial aid programs for veterans' families - some states have additional grants or scholarships that can supplement federal aid. Also, when you're gathering documentation, don't forget to keep copies of everything you submit. We learned the hard way that sometimes documents get lost in the system and you'll need to resubmit. Having everything organized and ready to go again can save you weeks of delays. One more tip: if your daughter is applying to multiple schools, create a spreadsheet tracking which schools have received what documents and when. Each school's financial aid office operates independently, so staying organized is crucial!