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!

As a fellow parent navigating FAFSA with veteran benefits, I completely understand your stress! I went through this exact situation last year with my daughter's application. Here's what I learned that might help: For the untaxed income reporting, you'll want to combine the annual totals from both your husband's VA retirement and SSDI - these go in the "Money received or paid on your behalf" section. The key is being consistent with how you report everything. One thing that really helped us was creating a simple worksheet before starting the FAFSA where we listed: - Total VA benefits received in 2023 - Total SSDI received in 2023 - Current bank account balances - Any other assets This made filling out the form much smoother and gave us confidence we weren't missing anything. Also, don't stress too much about the verification process if it happens - it's actually pretty common for military families. The schools are used to working with families in your situation, and having those year-end benefit statements ready is usually all they need. You're doing great by being so thorough and wanting to get everything right for your daughter!

I'm in a very similar situation and just wanted to say you're not alone in feeling overwhelmed by this process! My husband is also a disabled veteran receiving VA benefits, and I'm a non-working spouse. One thing that helped me was calling my daughter's top-choice school directly and speaking with their veterans' affairs coordinator in the financial aid office. They walked me through exactly how to report our benefits and even gave me a checklist of documents to prepare. Many schools have staff specifically trained to help military families navigate the FAFSA. Also, I found it helpful to complete the FAFSA in sections rather than trying to do it all at once. The form saves your progress, so you can take breaks to gather specific information without losing what you've already entered. This really reduced my stress level and helped me feel more confident about each section. You're being so thoughtful about getting everything right for your daughter - that care and attention will pay off!

I'm dealing with a nearly identical situation with my veteran husband's benefits and wanted to share what I learned from our experience last year. You're absolutely right to be thorough - it's so much better to over-report than miss something! A few specific tips that helped us: - For the asset reporting, make sure to include any 529 education savings accounts if you have them, even if funded with tax-free benefits - Keep a copy of your completed FAFSA PDF before submitting - it makes it easier to reference later if schools have questions - If your husband receives any other veteran benefits like VR&E or special housing allowances, those need to be reported too The verification process really isn't as scary as it sounds. We got selected and just had to provide our benefit award letters and bank statements. The whole thing was resolved within 2 weeks. One last thing - make sure your daughter knows to check her student aid email regularly after submission. Sometimes schools request additional info through the student portal and missing those requests can cause delays. You're doing everything right by being so careful about accuracy. Your daughter is lucky to have such a dedicated advocate!

I'm new to this community but going through the exact same situation with my husband's VA disability benefits and our FAFSA! Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - I had no idea there were so many nuances to reporting veteran benefits correctly. One thing I wanted to add that might help others: I found that the VA has a helpful fact sheet specifically about education benefits and FAFSA reporting on their website. It clarifies which VA benefits count as income vs. which ones don't need to be reported at all. For example, VA disability compensation is generally NOT reported as income on FAFSA, but other VA benefits like retirement pay ARE reported as untaxed income. Also, if anyone is struggling with the technical aspects of filling out the form online, many local VFW posts and American Legion chapters offer free FAFSA help sessions specifically for military families. They're usually held by volunteers who understand the unique challenges we face with non-traditional income situations. The stress is so real when you're trying to get everything perfect for your child's future! But seeing all the success stories here gives me hope that we can figure this out. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences - it's making this whole process feel much less overwhelming!

I'm also a military spouse dealing with FAFSA confusion! My husband receives VA disability compensation and we're non-filers too. After going through this process last year, I wanted to clarify something important that I see mentioned in the comments: VA disability compensation is generally NOT reported as income on the FAFSA, but other types of VA benefits like retirement pay ARE reported as untaxed income. Since your husband receives both retirement benefits AND SSDI, you'll definitely need to report both of those in the untaxed income section. The key is making sure you're distinguishing between disability compensation (which is typically tax-free and not reported) versus retirement pay (which is tax-free but still counts as income for FAFSA purposes). Also, don't stress too much about the verification process - we went through it and it was actually pretty straightforward. Just keep all your benefit statements organized and be ready to provide them if requested. The financial aid offices at schools are used to working with military families and understand our unique situations. You're being so thorough and careful, which is exactly the right approach. Your daughter is lucky to have such a dedicated advocate helping her navigate this process!

I'm also navigating FAFSA as a military family and wanted to share something that really helped us get organized. After reading through all these helpful responses, I created a simple checklist that we used to make sure we didn't miss anything: ✓ VA retirement pay - report in untaxed income section ✓ SSDI benefits - report in untaxed income section ✓ VA disability compensation - DO NOT report (tax-free and excluded from FAFSA) ✓ Current bank balances - report as assets ✓ Any 529 accounts - report as parent assets ✓ Both parents' info required even if one has no income ✓ Select "Will not file" for tax filing status The key thing that reduced my stress was realizing that being flagged for verification isn't a bad thing - it just means they want to double-check the information, which is totally normal for military families with complex benefit situations. One practical tip: I recommend gathering all your documentation BEFORE starting the FAFSA. Having everything in one folder (benefit statements, bank statements, etc.) made the whole process so much smoother. You're clearly being very thoughtful about this process, and that attention to detail will definitely pay off for your daughter!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm so grateful to have found this discussion! I'm in almost the exact same situation - my husband is a disabled veteran receiving both VA benefits and SSDI, and I'm completely overwhelmed trying to figure out the FAFSA for my daughter's 2025-2026 school year. Reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly reassuring. The checklist that Zane shared is especially helpful - I'm going to print that out and use it as my roadmap. I had no idea about the distinction between VA disability compensation (don't report) versus other VA benefits like retirement pay (do report as untaxed income). One question I have that I haven't seen addressed yet: For families like ours who have been living off tax-free benefits for years, do the asset protection allowances work the same way? I'm worried that our savings might look unusually high compared to our "on paper" income since we haven't been paying taxes on a significant portion of what we receive. Also, has anyone had experience with schools being understanding about our unique financial situations during the aid review process? I'm concerned that financial aid officers might not fully understand how military benefits work and might think we have more available funds than we actually do. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and experiences - this community is exactly what military families need when navigating these complex processes!

As a fellow military spouse going through the FAFSA process, I completely understand your stress! I just went through this exact situation last year with my daughter's application. A few key points that helped me navigate our veteran benefits situation: 1. Your husband's tax-free military retirement pay and SSDI both need to be reported in the "Untaxed Income" section - use the total annual amounts from your benefit statements 2. For assets, report your current bank balances as of the day you complete the FAFSA 3. You're correct that SSDI and SSI are different programs - don't report SSDI under SSI 4. Medicare and Medicaid are also different - don't report Medicare under Medicaid 5. Both parents must provide information even if one has no income One thing that really saved me stress was calling my daughter's school directly to speak with their veterans' affairs coordinator before submitting. They walked me through exactly how they wanted our benefits reported and gave me a checklist of documents to prepare for potential verification. The verification process (if selected) really isn't as scary as it sounds - we just had to provide our benefit award letters and bank statements, and it was resolved in about 2 weeks. You're being incredibly thoughtful about getting this right for your daughter, and that care will definitely pay off! Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions - military families need to support each other through these complex processes.